This week’s World Meterological Organisation’s report “The
Global Climate 2001-2010: A Decade Of Climate Extremes,”
attracted little publicity. This is probably a good thing as it is one of the
most muddled and inaccurate reports I have ever read from an international
organisation.
It is about ‘climate extremes’ in the last decade which
it claims are unprecedented. The WMO says that ten years is the minimum time
required to detect decadal effects. Not many scientists would agree with that.
Consider the extensive debate when it was noticed that the global annual
average surface temperature had remained unchanging for a decade. Opinion was
divided between those who said it meant nothing and those who thought it might
be indicative of something. Yet the WMO thinks ten years enough to detect
climatological weather effects with certainty. It seems to fit a recurrent
pattern amongst some climate analysts that ten years is enough to see what you
want to see, but not long enough to see what you don’t.
The report also says that global warming accelerated
between 1971-2010. This is obviously not the case. It has been established in
the numerous analyses carried out of the various global temperature data sets
that the late 20th century warming trend did not continue in the 21st century.
The report places great store on the fact that the past decade has been the
warmest of the instrumental (post-1850) period. So do we all, but the WMO fails
to take into account the recent temperature plateau that extends far beyond a
decade….. To Read More….
No comments:
Post a Comment