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Climate Change: Is It Real?

By Mike Ekberg,Manager for Water Resources Monitoring and Analysis

Is climate change for real?
Is the world getting warmer, or is all this talk about a warming climate just a bunch of hooey? Let’s consider some recent findings. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), June 2016 was the warmest June ever recorded in terms of average worldwide temperatures. In fact, June 2016 was the 14th consecutive month to set a new monthly global temperature record. NOAA has been keeping track of monthly global temperatures for 137 years. It compares current monthly global temperatures with the 20th century. The average global temperature for June was 0.92°C (1.62°F) above the 20th century average. Do you know when the last time June global temperatures were actually below average? In 1976 – 40 years ago! NOAA also tracks key indicators worldwide of a changing climate. According to NOAA’s latest State of the Climate Report:

  • Land, air, and sea surface temperatures are rising.
  • Glaciers and ice sheets are melting and decreasing in size.
  • Sea level is rising.
  • Snow cover and the extent of sea ice are decreasing.
  • Ocean heat content is increasing.

All of these indicators point convincingly to a warming world. Is it global warming? Is it climate change? Is it simply changing weather patterns? Call it what you want, but the fact is earth’s climate is dynamic and always redefining normal. A continental-sized glacier once covered the Dayton region. So there’s always been and likely always will be "climate change." The debate, if there is one, is over how much we humans are impacting the current warming trend. And the bigger questions we should all be asking are, "What challenges does a changing climate pose for us?" and "How are we going to meet those challenges?"

 NOAA Climate change graphic 10 Indicators of a Warming World


Posted in: Climate on August 1st, 2016