Winter Warmest on Record Worldwide

[jefferson_dem]

Winter Warmest on Record Worldwide
Thursday March 15, 2:23 pm ET
By Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer
NOAA Report: El Nino, Global Warming Contribute to Warmest Winter on Record

WASHINGTON (AP) -- This winter was the warmest on record worldwide, the government said Thursday in the latest worrisome report focusing on changing climate.
The report comes just over a month after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said global warming is very likely caused by human actions and is so severe it will continue for centuries.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the combined land and ocean temperatures for December through February were 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit above average for the period since record keeping began in 1880.

The report said that during the past century, global temperatures have increased at about 0.11 degrees per decade. But that increase has been three times larger since 1976, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center reported.

Most scientists attribute the rising temperatures to so-called greenhouse gases which are produced by industrial activities, automobiles and other processes. These gases build up in the atmosphere and trap heat from the sun somewhat like a greenhouse.

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NCDC Climate Report: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2007/feb/feb07.html

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070315/warmest_winter.html?.v=1

[Blue_In_AK]

1. But Alaska is having its coldest March on record...

I wish we could blow some of the cold air down south. I'm ready for spring.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/8709545p-8611831c.html

[roamer65]

2. Sorry, but keep it right up there.

j/k. Spring is on it way. It'll be there sooner than normal as well.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. I hope you're right.

We had a late spring last year and nearly froze our butts off on our first camping trip in June. We even woke up to snow on our tent the first morning. :(

[Mnemosyne]

4. K and R, to keep it out there. n/t

[Lisa]

5. so I guess those recent cold spells don't refute global warming after all!

(Recall all those editorial cartoons claiming that Al Gore couldn't be right, because of those blizzards.) And even though some of the higher temperatures are likely from El Nino, given that we've been subjected to that kind of thing for centuries (at least), isn't it interesting that the Southern Oscillation doesn't seem to account for the longer-term warming trend.

[damntexdem]

6. Another whack from the old hockey stick.

You know -- the one the deniers say doesn't exist.