Arguments
2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #28
Posted on 14 July 2018 by John Hartz
Editor's Pick
Heat Records Falling Around the World in 2018
Above: A sampling of all-time high temperatures reported around the world in 2018 thus far, rounded to the nearest degree Fahrenheit. Most of these were set in late June and early July (see details below). The reading of 51.3°C (124.3°F) at Ouargla, Algeria, is the highest reliably measured temperature on record for Africa. Background image credit: NASA Earth Observatory.
The first five months of 2018 were the fourth warmest in global records going back to 1880, according to NOAA. Along the way, a number of extreme heat events have occurred already this year. In recent weeks across the Northern Hemisphere, these records have included an impressive number of all-time highs (an all-time high is the warmest temperature reported on any date at a given location).
Setting an all-time high is no small accomplishment, especially for locations that have long periods of record (PORs). All-time highs are especially noteworthy when you consider that, on average, the planet is warming more during winter than during summer, and more at night than during the day. Urban heat islands are no doubt contributing somewhat to the heat records achieved in large urban areas, but the extreme heat of 2018 has also played out in remote rural areas without any urban heat islands.
As of July 13, the U.S. Records summary page maintained by NOAA showed that 18 U.S. locations had set or tied all-time highs so far this year, as opposed to 10 locations that set or tied all-time lows. There is an even sharper contrast between the number of all-time warm daily lows (40) and all-time cool daily highs (5), which has been a common pattern in recent years.
Here is a summary of some of the more significant heat-related events of the year-to-date around the world, in chronological order. Note that in some cases, extremely high temperatures recorded in the early 20th century are not considered reliable because of instrument placement and/or observing practices (as was the case with the infamous and ultimately disqualified El Azizi world heat record). All of the all-time highs shown below are valid for the climatological records that are considered reliable at a given location. All records are shown in the units used locally, followed by conversions to Celsius or Fahrenheit. (The United States is the only major country on Earth that does not primarly use the metric system.)
Heat Records Falling Around the World in 2018 by Christopher C Burt, Category 6, Weather Underground, July 13, 2018
Links posted on Facebook
Sun July 8, 2018
- New research, June 25 - July 1, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, July 6, 2018
- Model Independence Day by Gavin Schmidt, Real Climate, July 4, 2018
- Ireland to lead the way on giving up investments in fossil fuel by Ellen Coyne, The Times, July 6, 2018
- The Netherlands contemplates the world’s toughest climate law by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, July 6, 2018
- Daily Mail correctly reports that climate change leads to more severe heatwaves, but explanation of recent weather is off the mark, Edited by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, July 5, 2018
- Torrential rains kill at least 81 in western Japan by Kiyoshi Takenaka & Issei Kato, Reuters, July 8, 2018
- India plans to bring down emission levels of old power plants to national standards by 2022: Official, PTI/The Economic Times, July 7, 2018
- Designers vs. Climate Change by Meaghan O'Neill, Architectural Digest, July 4, 2018
Mon July 9, 2018
- This week's record-breaking heat has human fingerprints all over it by Jeremy Deaton, Nexus Media News/Popular Science, July 6, 2018
- Mongolia’s nomadic way of life threatened by climate change, neglect, modernity by Simon Denyer, World, Washington Post, July 8, 2018
- Sweden to reach its 2030 renewable energy target this year by Alex Gray, World Economic Forum (WEF), July 5, 2018
- There are genuine climate alarmists, but they're not in the same league as deniers by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, July 9, 2018
- Record heat put thousands of Californians in the dark Friday. Scientists predicted this from climate change. by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, July 9, 2018
- Surface air temperature for June 2018, Copernicus Climate Change Service, July 5, 2018
Tue July 10, 2018
- Fearing climate change, experts in San Diego warn U.S. nuclear industry faces collapse by Joshua Emerson Smith, The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 7, 2018
- Ozone hole mystery: China insulating chemical said to be source of rise by Matt McGrath, BBC News, July 9, 2018
- Scott Pruitt is leaving behind a toxic mess at the EPA by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, July 19, 2018
- How a natural gas group pushed for new energy curriculum in Texas by Asher Price, Austin American-Statesman, July 6, 2018
- Reshaping the Supreme Court: What 2 Dissents on Climate Rules Tell Us by John H Cushman Jr, InsideClimate News, July 10, 2018
- New EPA chief Andrew Wheeler has a fondness for right-wing media and climate-denier blogs by Lisa Hymas, Media Matters for America, July 9, 2018
- Japan: death toll climbs to 155 after 'historic' rain and landslides by Justin McCurry, World, Guardian, July 10, 2018
Wed July 11, 2018
- Reliance on gas could stop Ireland meeting global warming targets by Kevin O'Sullivan, Irish Times, July 9, 2018
- USA Today story accurate but lacks clarity regarding timescales over which warming could be underestimated, Edited by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, July 10, 2018
- Cement Producers Are Developing a Plan to Reduce CO2 Emissions by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, July 9, 2018
- Trump Administration Tries Another Emergency Appeal to Thwart Youth Climate Case by Karen Savage, Climate Liability News, July 9, 2018
- The Most Powerful Storm on Earth Is Bearing Down on Japan by Brian Kahn, Earther, July 11, 2018
- Coastal Cities Race to Keep Tabs on Rising Seas, Skyrocketing Costs by Dana Drugmand, Climate Liability News, July 11, 2018
- This video of a Greenland glacier fracturing is a close, scary look at sea level rise by Rachel Becker, The Verge, July 9, 2018
- Scientists may have solved a huge riddle in Earth’s climate past. It doesn’t bode well for the future. by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, July 11, 2018
Thu July 12, 2018
- Ocean Temperature - Part 1 by Irek Zawadzki, Skeptical Science, July 10, 2018
- From stinky seaweed to sick fish, world's warming oceans threaten livelihoods by Thin Lei Win, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 11, 2018
- Scientists assessed the options for growing nuclear power. They are grim. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, July 11, 2018
- Climate change will force us to redefine economic growth by Nicholas Stern, World Economic Forum (WEF), July 11, 2018
- Why This U.S. Climate Scientist Is Leaving Trump’s America for France by Diane Toomey, Yale Environment 360, July 12, 2018
- Half of national climate plans neglect people in danger, say researchers by Isabelle Gerretsen, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 11, 2018
- Rising ocean waters from global warming could cost trillions of dollars by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, July 12, 2018
- California will face a terrible choice: Save cliff-side homes or public beaches from rising seas by Darryl Fears, Speaking of Science, Washington Post, July 11, 2018
Fri July 13, 2018
- Ireland becomes first country in world to pull money from fossil fuels by Josh Gabbatiss, The Independent UK, July 12, 2018
- Heatwave seems to make manmade climate change real for Americans by Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, July 11, 2018
- Melting beauty: The Patagonian icefields by Kathryn Hansen, NASA's Earth Observatory, July 11, 2018
- The world has never seen a Category 6 hurricane. But the day may be coming. by David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel South Florida, July 6, 2018
- Exxon Quits Koch-Backed Business Group After Climate Change Row by Kevin Crowley & Ari Natter, Bloomberg News, July 12, 2018
- July 2018 ENSO Update: Dog days by Emily Becker, ENSO Blog, NOAA's Climate.gov, July 12, 2018
- Fahrenheit 100: could this be the summer Britain wakes up to climate change? Opinion by Michael McCarthy, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 12, 2018
- Heat Records Falling Around the World in 2018 by Christopher C Burt, Category 6, Weather Underground, July 13, 2018
Sat July 14, 2018
- Cape Town ‘Day Zero’ drought odds tripled by climate change by Karl Mathiesen, Climate Home News, July 13, 2018
- The air conditioner paradox: heating the world while cooling our homes, Analysis by Jenny Uechi, National Observer, July 13, 2018
- Drought creates a perfect storm for wildfires in U.S. West by Andrew Hay, Reuters, July 12, 2018
- Clean energy is catching up to natural gas by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, July 13, 2018
- Huge iceberg threatens village in Greenland by Staff/Agencies, Guardian, July 14, 2018
- Permafrost and wetland emissions could cut 1.5C carbon budget ‘by five years’ by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, July 9, 2018
- Nobel-Winning Economist to Testify in Children’s Climate Lawsuit by Georgina Gustin, InsideClimate News, July 11, 2018
- Australia falls further in rankings on progress towards UN Sustainable Development Goals by John Thwaites & Tahl Kestin, the Conversation AU, July 11, 2018
Another perspective on this years high temperatures from The Guardian.
“What’s unusual is the hemispheric scale of the heatwave,” said Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. “It’s not just the magnitude in any one location but that high temperatures are being seen over such a large area.”