So I go do my usual perusal bit and over the last two weeks, what do I find?

 

Well you see the whole planet is getting colder.

 

Really how do they work that out?  I see, they take the US temperature for January 2008 and see that it's the coldest since 1966.  So the entire warming of the planet is wiped out because the US and canada are having some seriously cold weather in winter.  Then there is the stat being put about that Jan 2007 to Jan 2008 was so cold it wiped out the entire temperature gain from the entire last century.

 

 

OK, but never mind the fact that Alaska is seeing seriously warm weather.  Never mind the fact that Northern Europe didn't have a winter. I guess the forest fires and sweltering temperatures which killed tens of thousands last summer were a figment of our imagionation.  Also I guess that someone forgot to tell the Arctic that it was colder last summer???

 

Then there is the "Cherry pick the reports" scenario.

 

Did you know that "some" OF THE ICE IN THE ARCTIC (note the sizings), is getting thicker than the last few years.  OR even that the overheads show the ice has recovered to "near normal" levels this winter.

 

Well no I didn't and yes I did.  I know that the Ice between Canada and Greenland is up to 20cm thicker than the previous few years.  But then it melts Every year so, "so what?".  Also I know that the perrennial Ice at the mouth of the northwest passage around Banks Island was simply not there in January and early february.  In fact instead or 5M thick Ice there was actually 100 KM wide swathes of open sea.  But I do know the "Extent" is near pre 2000 levels.  But you need to know the difference between Area and Extent.  One is close to 2000 levels.  The other is close to 2006/7 levels.

 

Guess I'm worrying about all the wrong things though cause guess what guys.  It's getting cooler, because the Americans are feeling it when they open the window.

 

Now I always knew that the US was the centre of the Economic world.  However I wasn't aware it was the ONLY measure by which we judge the temperature of the planet.

 

Ah yes I missed a bit.  The Middle East China and Southern Europe have snow.

 

Well yes, they got snow in 2006/7 too and look what happened to the Ice in the Arctic in 2007.  OK so they didn't get so much snow, however maybe we'll see even more melt this year because that snow didn't fall on the Arctic, it fell everywhere else.

 

And why was Northern Europe warmer this year?

 

Because the North Atlantic is some 3DegC warmer than normal.  Almost exactly the same rasie in temperature that was seen in the Arctic due to the huge melting last year.

 

Food for thougth.  I look forward to another bumper Arctic melt in 2008.  The Ice concentration maps are showing that the Northwest passage never really recovered much Ice this winter.  It should open in May.  It closed early last year after openening more than ever before.  I wonder what 5 solid months of sunlight can do to that patch of sea?

 

We shall observe and report.....

 

What I do see is more whacky weather coming to a "country near you" this coming year.