Winter mid-term report
Climate is what we expect and consists of data of past weather for periods of time.
It takes at least 30 years of weather data to get a good average of what to expect although the longer the period of data the better for weather scientists to work with to predict future weather.
The old saying is climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.
You may have noticed that mornings and evenings are a bit brighter as sunrise is now 7:41 a.m. and sunset at 5:18 p.m. From a climate standpoint, late January brings good news as average temperatures begin their turnaround after declining since late July.
Scientists now report that 2025 was another hot one and that earth’s temperatures have been steadily increasing over the past 275 years with the sharpest increases in the past two decades.
Our oceans continue to warm as they absorb most of the incoming heat. By now we know that these warmer oceans are the fuel for increased weather events that are causing the floods, droughts and storms.
Yes, we have always had floods, droughts and storms but the trend in recent decades strongly suggests that something is changing and we humans are the cause.
There is much talk these days about Greenland and minerals to be found. What is not being said is the fact that the ice continues to melt and if the Greenland ice sheet were to collapse the world would experience sea level increases of 24 feet, drowning cities worldwide.
The ice sheet that covers much of Greenland will not all melt at once but it is melting and for the past 25 years the Greenland mass of ice has been shrinking. The sea ice surrounding the country is also melting along with many of the world’s glaciers and ice from the Arctic and Antarctic.
You have probably heard of the tremendous need for energy to run the data centers the world is going to need. These are in addition to the increased usage of energy for both the developed and undeveloped countries of the world. Our world will need all the energy it can produce and it needs to be produced with a minimum of destruction to the environment.
An article in Scientific American this week discusses the fact that US greenhouse gas emissions are rising for the first time in two years and they could climb far higher. We all know that these gases are the culprit in the warming oceans and climate problems.
The Sunday New York Times had an article about the whiplash occurring from the uncertainty of the administration when it comes to wind power and the halting of almost complete projects off the New England coasts.
In a bit of good news another article mentioned that Congress is reversing budget cuts to science including NASA and our weather service people at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
We need these people to provide the weather and climate information to keep the public safe and to provide research for energy needs caused by our changing climate.
Looking ahead, the remainder of January looks to be on the cool side with precipitation a little above normal. It may be of comfort to know that winter is half over.