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'Unmistakable' Evidence Shows World Getting Warmer, NOAA Says
2010-07-28 20:36:42.450 GMT
By Brian K. Sullivan
July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Scientific evidence that the world
is getting warmer is "unmistakable," according to a report by
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration drawing on
research from 48 countries, including Russia and China.
The past decade was the warmest on record and the past 50
years have been getting hotter, the researchers said, citing 10
main indicators, including surface and ocean temperatures, the
amount of sea ice and glaciers and levels of humidity.
"The records come from many institutions worldwide," Jane
Lubchenco, NOAA administrator and undersecretary of Commerce for
oceans and atmosphere, said in a statement. "These
independently produced lines of evidence all point to the same
conclusion: Our planet is warming."
Globally, air temperature near the surface in the past 10
years was 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 Celsius) warmer than the
1960s and about 0.4 degree warmer than the 1990s, according to
the report.
The warming has lead to shrinking glaciers, more heat waves
and heavier rainfall as moisture in the atmosphere increases,
the researchers said.
"The temperature of 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past 50
years may seem small, but it has already altered our planet,"
said Deke Arndt, co-editor of the report, called "State of the
Climate in 2009." "And there is now evidence that over 90
percent of warming over the past 50 years has gone into our
oceans."
Conditions Examined
The researchers took into account the temperature of the
atmosphere, the heat content of oceans, sea level, sea surface
temperatures and snow cover. They also examined 27 other
indicators, including green house gas concentrations in the
atmosphere, precipitation levels and salinity of the oceans.
The amount of humidity has risen, while glaciers, sea ice
and snow cover have all shrunk, the report concluded.
"The scientific evidence that our world is warming is
unmistakable," according to the statement.
Arndt said he is alarmed by the amount of heat energy being
absorbed by the ocean, 93.4 percent of all warming. Water holds
heat better than air, so warmth will linger longer.
"It builds the momentum in the system," Arndt said.
Evidence of ocean warming has been detected as deep as
6,000 feet below the surface, according to NOAA.
Watching Cold
The authors of the report said people shouldn't draw
conclusions that all is well from periods of cool weather.
"A warming climate will still have cold spells, though
they will become less frequent and less intense," according to
another NOAA statement. "For example, in the winter of 2009-
2010, a warm air mass moved into Canada and pushed cold air
south. Canadians experienced a mild winter, but the mid-Atlantic
coast of the United States was extremely cold and snowy."
While snow records were set in the U.S. from Dallas to New
York, the rest of the Northern Hemisphere had "one of the
warmest winters on record," the agency said.
More than 300 authors from 48 countries contributed to the
report, according to a NOAA statement.
The data came from more than 7,000 weather stations,
according to the report. The editors for the report come from
the National Climatic Data Center, and the American
Meteorological Society provides scientific reviewers and
publishes it.
The report was released weeks after U.K. scientists at the
center of an international debate over the quality of climate-
change research were mostly cleared of wrongdoing by
investigators except for having avoided disclosing data to the
public.
Climate Criticism
Hundreds of e-mails stolen from the University of East
Anglia's computers in November sparked criticism from global-
warming skeptics including U.S. Senator James Inhofe, a
Republican from Oklahoma, who said they provided evidence of
data being manipulated.
Some skeptics have said temperature measurements could have
been skewed by weather stations being set up in more urban
areas, and contend an accurate picture of the Earth's warming
can't be measured.
Arndt said in a telephone interview the new report shows
many indicators are backing up temperature measurements.
"It was quite striking to see that many voices singing in
a single chorus," he said.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment, renewable energy page: GREEN <GO>
More climate-change news: NI CLIMATE <GO>
Most-read environment stories: MNI ENV >GO>
Green markets: EMIT <GO>
Most-read weather news MNI WEA <GO>
Energy news page: ETOP <GO>
Oil top news: OTOP <GO>
--With assistance from Alex Morales in London. Editors:
Charlotte Porter, Dan Stets
To contact the reporter on this story:
Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at +1-617-210-4631 or
bsullivan10@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dan Stets at +1-212-617-4403 or dstets@bloomberg.net
