Climate Data: Clear Warming In Past 20 Years

As we watch the terrible, historic flooding in the plains and midwest, we are reminded again of the consequences of ignoring climate change and the increasing frequency of major catastrophic weather events on the nation. Some climate change deniers, like fossil fuel industry shill Sen. James "Snowball" Inhofe (Rethug - Oil Patch), think that because we get snow in the winter that climate change is a hoax. They can't be bothered thinking about the climate physics involved, as in, what causes water to ascend into the atmosphere from bodies of water but heat, water which then rises, cools and comes down as precipitation/snow/rain? They're too busy cashing their campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.

The Associated Press looked at climate data in the lower 48 states and found this:

"Over the past 20 years, Americans have been twice as likely to sweat through record-breaking heat rather than shiver through record-setting cold, a new Associated Press data analysis shows.

The Associated Press looked at 424 weather stations throughout the lower 48 states that had consistent temperature records since 1920 and counted how many times daily hot temperature records were tied or broken and how many daily cold records were set. In a stable climate, the numbers should be roughly equal. 

Since 1999, the ratio has been two warm records set or broken for every cold one. In 16 of the last 20 years, there have been more daily high temperature records than low." (our emphasis)

A few of the AP's findings include:

— All nine of NOAA’s climate regions have seen more hot records set than cold ones since 1999, with the West, Southwest and Northeast having a 3-to-1 ratio.

— All four seasons have had more hot records broken than cold for the same time period.

— Most decades in the 20th century had close to an even ratio of hot to cold. The 1930s, driven by Dust Bowl summers, had about 1.4 hot records for every cold. The 1960s and 1970s had about 1.5 cold records for every hot. The 21st century has a 1.9-to-1 hot-to-cold ratio.

Much like the crisis of gun violence, change won't happen until venal morons like Snowball Inhofe are voted out. We have to hope it's not too late when we do.

(image: NASA)