PHOTO: AFP
The report released on Monday said that May was 0.71°C (1.3°F) above the long-term average.
Following the climatic patterns over the next year, there are ample chances this year may go on to set an all-time new record. In fact, the year has been no less than 0.1°C (0.17°F) hotter than the previous one, the former being the hottest itself as recorded.
The situation demands that the climate be reviewed and monitored following long-term trends.
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PHOTO: COURTESY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS and SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)
Around the world, there have been deliberations that a ‘pause’ in the global warming had occurred but the rate of energy gain within the oceans as well as the instrumentation and measurement quality deny this notion.
Secondly, questions have emerged on why global climate models are running hotter than the temperatures of the surface air. If viewed closely, the models and the actual surface temperatures during the previous and the current years seem well in agreement.
When surface temperatures are combined with ocean heat content, it can be stated with confidence that warming has continued at a rapid rate.
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PHOTO: COURTESY NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)
While the poor instrument coverage around the world, volcanic eruptions and an oscillation in the oceans every two years are blamed for the surface warming slowdown, it is by fact that short term fluctuations can only temporarily influence the long term trend.
What is worrying is that we can now witness a step-jump in global temperatures surpassing the estimate of scientists.
One can hope that this prediction is wrong but we must be well prepared to face challenge if it proves otherwise.
The article first appeared on The Guardian
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