Did You Hear the News? The Seven Hottest Years on Record are the Last Seven Years!!



It makes you wonder what the future holds except that most Canadians would rather have their wisdom teeth out than dwell on that question.


The last seven years were the world’s hottest on record, with the first analysis of global temperature in 2021 showing it was 1.2C above pre-industrial levels.

The assessment of the year, by the European climate agency Copernicus, also found carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached record levels and that the potent greenhouse gas methane surged “very substantially”, also to a new record.

The rise in greenhouse gas concentration means more heat is being trapped than ever before but 2021 ranked as the fifth hottest year on record. This is because a natural and cyclic climate phenomenon called La Niña exerted a cooling influence by bringing cold Pacific waters to the surface.

Extreme heat also caused the “mother of all heatwaves” in the west of the US and Canada. Temperature records were smashed by 5C and scientists calculated the event was made at least 150 times more likely by global heating. In California, the Dixie wildfire was the second largest in history.

The average CO2 levels in 2021 reached a new record of 414 parts per million in 2021 – before the Industrial Revolution and large scale burning of fossil fuels the level was 280ppm. The rate of CO2 rise remained the same as it had since 2010, despite Covid-related lockdowns.

Methane levels are accelerating with the growth rate in 2021 approximately three times the rate of a decade ago. Methane is emitted through fossil fuel exploitation, cattle and other livestock, and natural wetland processes and scientists are uncertain about the cause of the rapid rises.

Vincent-Henri Peuch, at Copernicus, said: “CO2 and methane concentrations are continuing to increase year-on-year and without signs of slowing down.

But enough of this doom and gloom. Sure it was hot, record hot, and sure we had record wildfires. Yes, we had heat domes but, hey, all but 800 of us survived that, right? Let's focus on the positive. Justin Trudeau's pipeline is progressing nicely. It costs an arm and a leg but we'll get that money back after another half-century of flooding world markets with our delicious bitumen. 

It's called cognitive dissonance and it may be our prime minister's strongest quality. This guy has to go. 


Comments

  1. Northern PoVJanuary 11, 2022 at 7:25 AM

    Only the SEVENTH warmest, eh?

    Maybe things are getting better!

    errr ...
    "Hottest ocean temperatures in history recorded last year
    Ocean heating driven by human-caused climate crisis, scientists say, in sixth consecutive year record has been broken"
    ~The Guardian

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibJanuary 11, 2022 at 8:23 AM

      I thought 2021 was the fifth warmest of the last seven, largely due to La Nina. As for "getting better" that's strange talk coming from a British Columbian.

      Your point about ocean warming is often overlooked by our terrestrial species. Australia has been experiencing a coastal ocean heatwave over the past month.

      I only hope we don't see a repeat of last year, NPoV.

      Delete
    2. Northern PoVJanuary 12, 2022 at 6:14 AM

      "As for "getting better" that's strange talk coming from a British Columbian."

      Oh for a sarcasm font!

      Delete

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