Energy

Science Magazine: We’re Halfway To Global Warming ‘Hell’

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
Font Size:

The New Scientist magazine has issued a dire warning about global warming: the climate has warmed to the point where it’s now halfway towards what scientists claim is dangerous global warming.

“It’s the outcome the world wants to avoid, but we are already halfway there,” according to the New Scientist. “All but one of the main trackers of global surface temperature are now passing more than 1 °C of warming relative to the second half of the 19th century” which is halfway to the 2 degrees Celsius of warming the United Nations constitutes as dangerous warming.

The New Scientist also argues the so-called “hiatus” in global warming could be over, meaning “this is just the start of a period of rapid warming.” The magazine put out this chart to illustrate just how close we are to global warming “hell”:

Source: The New Scientist, https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22730324-200-earth-now-halfway-to-un-global-warming-limit/

Source: The New Scientist, https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22730324-200-earth-now-halfway-to-un-global-warming-limit/

“All but one set of adjusted figures show that we will have already passed 1 °C before the next round of UN talks on a global climate treaty get under way in December,” according to the magazine. “And if climate talks do not lead to drastic action, we could pass the 2 °C mark around the middle of the century.”

The New Scientists warns the planet could warm at a rate “more like those from 1984 to 1998, when it warmed at 0.26 °C per decade” instead of the 0.04 degrees per decade warming trend that persisted from 1998 to 2012.

“There’s a good chance the hiatus is over,” climate scientist Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research told The New Scientist.

The New Scientist’s graph displays surface temperature readings from weather stations, buoys, ships, etc. from around the world. Some surface temperature readings go back to the mid-1800s, but land and ocean temperatures suffer from many problems that have to be adjusted for by scientists.

While these surface temperature datasets show about 1 degree of warming since the late 1800s, satellite temperature readings show only a slight warming trends since 1979 — when satellite data was first taken. Satellites, which measure temperatures in the lowest few miles of the atmosphere, show no significant warming trend for nearly 21 years. Satellites also show much less warming than was predicted by most climate models.

Source: Patrick Michaels, Cato Institute http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/when-will-climate-scientists-say-they-were-wrong

Source: Patrick Michaels, Cato Institute http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/when-will-climate-scientists-say-they-were-wrong

It should also be noted that while 2015 is shaping up to be the warmest year on record, thanks to a strengthening El Nino warming event, it’s still likely to be cooler than what most climate models predicted.

Follow Michael on Twitter

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.