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Ear to the Ground

Warmest Winter in at Least 125 Years

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Posted on Mar 15, 2007
news.bbc.co.uk

European ski resorts have felt the pinch of a snowless winter.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared this winter the warmest on record for the Northern Hemisphere. So far, 2007 appears likely to rank as the warmest overall year. Annual temperatures have broken the record in 10 of the last dozen years.

For more coverage of the climate crisis, read “A Coalition of the Unwilling” by Sarah Stillman.

BBC:

Winter in the northern hemisphere this year has been the warmest since records began more than 125 years ago, a US government agency says.

The combined land and ocean surface temperature from December to February was 0.72C (1.3F) above average.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said El Nino, a seasonal warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean, had also contributed to the warmth.

Weather experts predict that 2007 could be the hottest year on record.

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By Adam, March 16, 2007 at 3:11 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

How are people out there understanding this record “warming”?  I’m wondering, in particular, if the readers of this article appreciate the jumpy nature of our planet’s climate.  The warming we’re now seeing is beginning to upset “time bombs” in many of the north’s ecosystems that can quickly spike the Earth’s temperatures much higher than the already record temperatures we’re experiencing.  Do people know about what is happening to the peat bogs in Siberia and other places in the Arctic?  Hot winters such as this year’s winter thaw the normally frozen peat, thereby releasing millions of tons of ancient methane—this happens fast, much faster than the steady but gradual warming we’ve so far experienced.  Once this methane is released, there’s no going back, at least not for millions of years.  And this is just one of many potential time bombs.  Please don’t assume that warming winters just mean less snow for skiing.

For interested readers, I recommend two books that further explore these time bomb tipping points: Tim Flannery’s The Weathermakers, and Fred Pearce’s The Last Generation.  Also useful is the website http://www.RealClimate.org, where climate scientists present and discuss much of the information relevant for an understanding of what our planet is experiencing, and where it seems to be headed.

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By Dennis D, March 15, 2007 at 9:06 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

There goes the snowmobile market too. Nothing better then “experts” predicting something “could” happen.
I guess everyone’s a politician after all.

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By TAO Walker, March 15, 2007 at 8:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Has everybody got those paper canoes patched-up?  Because Shit Creek is overflowing, and will soon fill the mean streets of “(Y)our Town.”

But what in the world will you use for paddles?

HokaHey!

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