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THE PAST COUPLE weeks have given climate change sceptics plenty of events that seem like reasons to dispute global warming.
An inundation of wintry weather across the country carried snowstorms and freezing temperatures everywhere from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast.
Most recently, snowstorms in Buffalo, NY have made travel impossible, caused roofs to buckle, and left at least a dozen people dead.
If it’s so cold and there’s a dangerous amount of snow, then how could the Earth possibly be warming?
Climate and weather
Part of the confusion comes down to our understanding of weather and climate.
Weather is what we see day-to-day. It explains changes in the atmosphere over short periods of time and is highly unpredictable. A sudden thunderstorm or blizzard is what we refer to as weather.
Climate, on the other hand, describes the behaviour of the atmosphere over long periods of time.
Using weather, as in a few very cold days, as evidence against global warming, as in decade of hotter summers, is kind of like using one man’s early death to disprove the fact that, on average, life expectancies are increasing.
There will continue to be hot and cold extremes, but when the weather is averaged over time, a clear warming trend emerges. The 2009 State of the Climate Report, compiled by hundreds of scientists around the world, revealed that the first decade of this century was the hottest since scientists started recording data in the 1880s.
NOAA data
The current decade is shaping up to be a record breaker, as well. Data just released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show that this October was the hottest one on record – and April, May, June, August, and September all broke their own records this year, too.
NOAA’s map below shows how this October’s temperatures stack up to average temperatures for this time of year. Red areas are warmer than average and blue areas are colder than average.
Overall, there is a general warming pattern across the map — and that’s true not just of this month, but of the entire year. In fact, 2014 is currently on track to become the hottest year on record.
But climate contrarians will still protest: “Our climate has gone through huge transitions before!” That’s true.
Over the past million of years the Earth has shifted between warm “interglacial” periods and cool “glacial” periods. These changes, however, occurred over long stretches of time and were caused by natural variation in the Earth’s system.
The changes in climate that scientists are observing today are man-made, caused by an increasing level of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the planet. As a result, the warming of our planet is happening on a much shorter time-scale than ever before.
Polar vortex
In fact, the whirlpool of frigid air, known as the “polar vortex” — which was blamed for last winter’s “eye-popping” cold weather and has been held responsible for some of this month’s frigid conditions — may actually be tied to warming temperatures in the Arctic.
During the winter, these winds normally remain locked up over the Arctic. Last winter, the polar vortex made headlines when it became notably unstable (a pattern that was also observed in 2009-2010), possibly because of melting ice and warmer polar winters. The weakened vortex allows streams of the cold Arctic air to break free, flowing into other parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Earlier this month, polar winds were disrupted by a weather event known as a “bomb cyclone,” which rammed into the polar jetstream and sent a flurry of unseasonably cold weather south through North America.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warming temperatures are likely to cause an increase in extreme weather events around the globe, including the kind of cyclone mentioned above.
So while this wintry weather may seem like a sign of hope for the earth, it’s important to note that climate change is capable of producing all kinds of effects. And paying attention to longterm patterns rather than short-term weather events is the best way to find out the truth about what’s happening on the planet.
- Dina Spector and Chelsea Harvey
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If Tokyo shot down a drone, which is basically a peice of machinery, I cant see how it could be deemed an act of war, especially when no citizen of China was harmed in any way. Its like if I left my ride on lawn mower out side and my neighbour blew it up, I’d say ah Fred, for fu*ks sake, what are you like. But if Fred tried to blow up my mower while I was on it, then I’d jump fence armed with the rose pruner and turn baritone Fred into a soprano.
Think you need to move house mate, that Fred chap sounds a right bollix.
Ireland should start developing drones through our technology colleges. We’ve got great aeronautical and computer expertise. We could develop valuable intellectual property for export.
I’d rather we didn’t get involved in an industry that espouses extra-judicial killings.
It’s unlikely, in China’s case anyway, that their plan is to use these things for weather, mapping etc.
They are made to kill at a distance, asymmetrical warfare at its most obvious. We don’t need to get involved. It’s dirty. Just because we CAN do something, doesn’t mean we should.
We don’t need to use our colleges to develop drone technology. That’s what we have politics for. Strap wings on ‘em and point them straight up…
No wonder this country will never get anyplace with those sort of attitudes.
Drones are used in certain places to deliver goods to remote areas inaccessible by land. Others are used for research purposes or to aid in search and rescue operations. A drone is not exclusively a weapon of war.
By the start of 2014 ireland will have a debt of approximately 205billion. If you want a future for your kids, we should explore every possible avenue that will excell our growth. If our skill set is building drones, then lets builld them and create thousands of high paid jobs for graduates. With a 205billion debts, its very simple, beggers cant be choosers!
Drone, drone, drone, drone, it’s all so depressing.
On a brighter note it’s Friday and accoring to statistics lots of people are having sex right now.
I’m done!
Might do it again later.
Your hand doesn’t count Jim
I feel safer already.
Excellent drone work.
Like most chinese made things the batteries will wear out after a few hours and the thing will have fallen apart within a month.
God be with the days when all you had to do was call the A team….
Drone on truck in main picture is wrong one, wings are straight… not delta shaped as the article (or indeed the BBC article) points out
It’s 2013, the wings orientation shouldn’t an issue.
What’s even more amusing about the picture is the truck in camouflage green with the very discreet white-wall tyres. Sure, nobody would notice those out in the countryside…..
They are parade trucks,not actual combat vechicles.
The big question of course is where will this end ? . So soon we can see China taking out dissidents in London or New York ? Iran taking out dissidents in Istanbul ? Or for example in former times The British Government liquidating suspects in Dublin or Dundalk ? With the risk of (Some) collateral damage ? Under which international law will drone attacks operate ?
Padric. You might want to look closer to home. Tibetan dissidents in Napal.
I hardly think the Chinese will be sending columns of flying drones over the skies of London or New York to bomb dissidents especially when a poisoned umbrella or concrete shoes will do the trick just as easily. It’s worked quite well for the Russians
@ Mick : I exaggerate a little about London and New York of course, but there must be a provision for this “relatively new phenomenon” written into the Geneva Convention, or some such international law which forbids the use of drone strikes across national borders aimed at extra-judicial killings. Otherwise this will get completely out of hand.
In Cantonese it’s called Hu Flung Dung.
Does the drone pictured mounted on the truck seem a bit small?
Both the Predator & Reaper drones seem much larger.
I wonder what ordnance it could carry & its range doing so?
I doubt it could reach Japan…… probably scares the sh*t out of Taiwan though.
Drones wouldn’t scare any modern force really. They’re big, slow targets with practically no ability for evasive manoeuvres past a few basic programmed moves and very little in the way of countermeasures. Iran also showed that anyone with even a basic understanding of the technology can essentially shut down a drone.
They’re useful for observing an area with absolutely no air defences and can be of limited combat value. Anything more and you really need to call in a manned, supersonic jet with much more ordnance and countermeasures. Something which almost everyone has at this stage.
I’m a bit skeptical about Iran’s ability to bring down that drone. It’s speculated that it could have been a modern Trojan horse, used to deliver targeted malware. We know the US have targeted Iran with malware before; Stuxnet.
Jason is right Barry.
Predators for example are propellor driven, and travel around 400mph at best.
A 1970s jet or any half decent SAM site can pick them off easily enough.
The MiG fighters employed by Iran are more than a match for any drone currently in service.
You must not know of the incident in question, Ricky. Iran claimed they hacked the drone while in flight and commanded it to land. It was undamaged and they said they plan to reverse engineer it. They did not shoot it down.
I heard of the incident,….. i assumed it was just downed by an iranian missile.
China is a bit behind these other boys “Senior analyst Gen. McInerney warns that US is in comparable danger to pre-WWII period, specifically from Russian and Iranian hegemonies.”
Next they be thinking for themselves
Our experts busies in inventing drones an other war high tech technology but how about this Doomsday Debate: Asteroid Threat Could Divide Society. If our God permit this such as the 1979 vn that have an absolute magnitude of 13.2 and the rolling of the moon will come up all the things that we have in this planet will erases that we may pull back in the old days that uses horse and sword that only only came face to face during war. And no civilian casualties.
have your say