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Arctic Posts Second Warmest Year On Record In 2018, NOAA Says (reuters.com)

According to a new report released on Tuesday by the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Arctic had its second-hottest year on record in 2018. "Arctic air temperatures for the past five years have exceeded all previous records since 1900," according to the annual NOAA study, the 2018 Arctic Report Card, which said the year was second only to 2016 in overall warmth in the region. Reuters reports: The study said the Arctic warming continues at about double the rate of the rest of the planet, and that the trend appears to be altering the shape and strength of the jet stream air current that influences weather in the Northern Hemisphere. "Growing atmospheric warmth in the Arctic results in a sluggish and unusually wavy jet-stream that coincided with abnormal weather events," it said, noting that the changing patterns have often brought unusually frigid temperatures to areas south of the Arctic Circle. Some examples are "a swarm of severe winter storms in the eastern United States in 2018, and the extreme cold outbreak in Europe in March 2018 known as 'the Beast from the East.'"

16 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"On record" = laughable by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Informative

    The medieval warm period. Really. C'mon. Don't want to go back to the dinosaurs as usual to show just how warm earth can be and still sustain life?

    But ok. The MWP. First of all, even during the MWP it wasn't as warm as it is today. It was about 0.2 to 0.4 degrees Celsius warmer than before. Today we're at about 1.0 degrees warmer than it was in the 800s. Second, the MWP was not an uniform climate change as we experience today. It was mostly a localized phenomenon with various areas experiencing warmer periods during different times in those 300ish years.

    In other words, there's a reason why even the most harebrained deniers don't use it. Stick with the dinosaurs, back then it was at least warmer than it is today.

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  2. Re:Second hottest year by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So what's to worry, it's colder than it was before. See? It's not getting warmer, it's getting colder!

    (And yes, this is sarcasm. It's actually pretty sad that it is necessary to explicitly say so...)

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  3. Stop advertising a warmer Arctic by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 4, Funny

    I won't spend my holidays there.

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  4. The Chinese are really brilliant by WuestenFuchs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Since even the president of the US is convinced that global warming is a Chinese hoax, we have to be impressed by the way China is playing this game. The Chinese manage to really create ever warmer weather year after year, just to fool us into thinking global warming is real. They are truly brilliant.

  5. Re:"On record" = laughable by DogDude · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're right. The Earth has been both warmer and cooler in the past. What's your fucking point?

    As coastal cities continue to flood, should we just say, "Well, we're not going to do anything about it, because it happened before in the pre-cambrian era?"

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  6. Responsible coastal development by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Maybe, we should not socialize the losses of coastal properties via our National Flood Insurance program? For all the talk of climate change, I see homes swept away by hurricanes and then even bigger ones replace them in under two years. In my lifetime NJ beachfronts now look like a glass wall with massive homes built as close to the beach as possible.

    If the government insures a property and it is lost to floodwaters - a condition of claim payment should be that the property becomes prohibited to future development. If private landowners and private insurers want to take on this risk - good for them.

    Building these homes over and over again sticks the taxpayer with the disaster bill.

  7. Re:Second hottest year by SqueakyMouse · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Did you know the temperature of the whole universe used to be over a billion degrees and nobody died at all back then?

    Did you know the arctic has actually cooled considerably since July?

    Is this going far enough that I need to point out it's meant as parody? I seriously hope it is.

  8. Re:"On record" = laughable by religionofpeas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "it's okay when my house is flooded, because 1 billion years ago it was an ocean"

  9. Re:I thought Obama fixed climate change though by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Interesting

    He did a good number of things to help reduce global warming: Restrict coal power plant emissions, improve automotive fleet emissions standards, sign the Paris climate accord, and subsidize renewable energy and EV sales. All things Trump has undone or is working on undoing.

    China will have the US over a barrel once global carbon trading is mandatory. I'd say that you collectively deserve it, but on the other hand most Americans who voted didn't vote for this.

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  10. AGW Denier trolls are out in force by hyades1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's sad to see Slashdot taken over by anti-science scumbags, posting as "Anonymous Cowards" and lying that Global Warming isn't happening even with evidence all over the place. And then there's the overwhelming support for GW in the scientific community. What do they know!

    I have to admire the plucky band of billionaires, conspiracy nutbars and oil companies bravely fighting back against all that nasty, evil science. Of course, the downside is that their kids will line up to piss on their graves.

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    1. Re:AGW Denier trolls are out in force by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's sad to see Slashdot taken over by anti-science scumbags, posting as "Anonymous Cowards" and lying that Global Warming isn't happening even with evidence all over the place. And then there's the overwhelming support for GW in the scientific community. What do they know!

      I have to admire the plucky band of billionaires, conspiracy nutbars and oil companies bravely fighting back against all that nasty, evil science. Of course, the downside is that their kids will line up to piss on their graves.

      Browse with only +2 visible and you won't see most of that.

      As far as the PR effort goes, global warning was way oversold initially and the early dire predictions (that were sold via the media) didn't happen, or didn't happen anything like they were sold. That had a crying wolf effect.

      Also, demonizing people and calling them stupid isn't a great way to win them over.

      That said, any solution is going to be technological. Top down command and control isn't doing what you want it to do; it isn't succeeding (and yes, succeeding politically and socially is part of succeeding).

    2. Re: AGW Denier trolls are out in force by jd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Initially? It has been discussed since 1895. It was confirmed by NASA in 1968. It was in textbooks in 1982. It was in the nrws in 1992.

      Whose initial?

      And who oversold it? The scientists? Or the deniers in their claims of what the scientists were claiming?

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  11. Re:Big whoop! by WuestenFuchs · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We are not measuring things on a geological scale, but in human terms. So your argument is invalid. During most of the 4.543 billion years that earths exists, it was not habitable by humans. And even during long periods when earth was more or less habitable, most places where people live now, were under water or otherwise inhabitable. Also, please google "xkcd 1732" and watch, then think again.

  12. Obligatory: Earth Temperature Timeline by kbahey · · Score: 4, Informative

    Obligatory: Earth Temperature Timeline, courtesy of XKCD.

  13. Re: "On record" = laughable by jd · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No, they really weren't. Stop using Infowars as your encyclopedia. Find me a peer reviewed paper in a reputable journal that said that, with proof that other scientists backed the claim.

    You won't find the paper.

    That's because it exists only in fantasy.

    Give over, you can live your life in fantasy but don't expect us to live in your fantasy too.

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    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  14. Re:Good News by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Having lived in Alaska, I take this as good news. Cold is bad

    Just wait until you find out how much Alaskan infrastructure is dependent on what is currently permafrost remaining permafrost.

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