The Big Chill
The Daily Mail - which has been exhibiting a bit of a split personality of late, reporting both major freezes in Britain while simultaneously running stories about what a mild winter they are having - suddenly notices that it's cold this year. Cold just about everywhere in the northern hemisphere except western Europe, in fact. Actually, it is more than just cold - it is killing people cold. They finally have a roundup of just how cold - and how many people have died from the cold this year. Even the Daily Mail is having doubts about global warming right now.
Yesterday's picture in the Mail of a cascade of icicles in the Yorkshire Dales was a reminder of how cold Britain can be - something many of us have forgotten in this unusually mild winter.
But it really is remarkable how little attention has been paid to the extraordinary weather events which in recent weeks have been affecting other parts of the world.
Across much of the northern hemisphere, from Greece and Iran to China and Japan, they have been suffering their worst snowfalls for decades.
Similarly freakish amounts of snow have been falling over much of the northern United States, from Ohio to the Pacific coast, where in parts of the state of Washington up to 200in of snow have fallen in the past fortnight.
In country after country, these abnormal snowfalls have provoked a crisis.
In China - the only example to have attracted major coverage in Britain - the worst snow for 50years triggered an unprecedented state of emergency.
Large parts of the country have been paralysed, as rail and road transport ground to a standstill.
More than 25,000 miles of power lines collapsed under a weight of snow and ice they were never designed to cope with.
Snow has devastated thousands of square miles of farmland, threatening severe food shortages.
The total cost of the disaster to the Chinese economy may be more than £10billion.
In Afghanistan, freezing weather and the worst snow for 30 years have killed more than 900 people.
In neighbouring Tajikistan, according to aid agencies, the coldest winter for 50 years, along with soaring food prices and a massive energy crisis, threatens a "humanitarian catastrophe".
They have quite a lot more as well as some stunning pictures of just how bad it is in some places you would not expect. An outdoor cafe in Greece shrouded in very thick ice, for example. Today's Rutgers Global Snow Lab shows an enormous departure from "normal" snowfall amounts all over the northern hemisphere (it is down from a couple of weeks ago but still extensive). That departure is in an upward direction. The U of I Cryosphere Today website shows that Antarctic ice is above "normal" for this time of year. While it also shows northern ice is a bit below "normal", ice is very, very far down the west coast of Greenland and is still growing.
The earth's climate is always in a state of flux. There is no constant, perfect climate - the UN's own "proof" of global warming shows that. The only factor that provides a significant amount of heat to the earth is the sun - without it this planet would be a ball of ice in very short order. Some researchers have been warning that the sun is in a down cycle. If so, it is going to get colder. The climate will change in a different direction.
As it has done for millions of years.
Environment | Gaius Wednesday, 20 February , 2008
By NortonPete, Wednesday, 20 February , 2008 @ 7:53 pm
More snow does not always equal lower temperatures.
Global warming disciples believe that increased snow is from global warming. They think that more snow comes from a warming planet.
They do not realize that snow would not form in warmer climates.
By Quilly Mammoth, Wednesday, 20 February , 2008 @ 9:09 pm
Change the date on your "Daly Artic Sea Ice Maps" to Feb 19, 1990. The result is stunning.
By kidrob, Thursday, 21 February , 2008 @ 11:33 am
mean while back at the ranch(the u.n.) whats for lunch?
By At The Water Cooler, Thursday, 21 February , 2008 @ 1:20 pm
I’ve just replaced 1/2 the lights I changed to low power last week. I did not realize how fast changing a light bulb would effect the planet. I have also removed a little of the weather strip around the window that prevents cold air from entering the room and prevents the hot air (which is needed today) from getting outside.
By Mockinbird, Thursday, 21 February , 2008 @ 4:23 pm
It truly is terrible as it is killing people.
It seems incongruous to use a Florida Driver’s License to scrape heavy frost off my windshield.