Hot, Hot, Hot....or Cold, Cold, Cold?
Was 2005 a "blip" or a taste of things to come?
Between 25th December 2004 and 25th December 2005 the Northern Hemisphere experienced the hottest year on record and the second hottest since the records began in the 60's according to weather experts, it has been noted that July 2005 was the hottest year on record in Europe and temperatures were at 50 degrees C in Northern Africa for over a week, sea temperatures in the North have also been the warmest on record.
The Antarctic Ice Shelf is breaking up as Icebergs the size of Belgium are breaking away to sea at an alarming rate according to experts monitoring activity in this region, there have been more incidents of ice breakup in the last 5 years than any other time on record.
Hurricane Katrina:
Our Planet experienced some of the strongest Hurricanes in recent times and the arrival of these Hurricanes were the earliest on record, especially in the USA where there was the earliest recorded hurricane in American history to hit USA shores in July 2005.
Globally it seems that their has been a general increase in storms and flooding over the last 50 years, the worst of which have been in the last 5 years.
Could the Tsunami in Asia be a result of these increases in activity? is the Planet fighting back? and more importantly are we going to accept that our activity on this planet could be something to do with all this?
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Fires in Portugal and rest of Europe:
But could it become a lot colder?.
In Northern portugal it was reported that over 30 forest fires blazed away as firemen tried to battle against the heat and lack of water, Spain donated water to help.
It was reported that in Mumbia-India they had the largest rain downpour in living memory with 1 Metre (yes... 100cm) of rain falling in less than 1 hour, something that has not been recorded before, it took the authorities by surprise so much so that 400 people died in less than 48 hours due to no pre warning, this is very similar to what happened in Boscastle in the UK bit thankfully there were not the levels of human suffering as in India.
In the UK we had our first Hurricane to measure F2-3 on the Tornado scale, in Birmingham on 28th July 2005 roofs were ripped off buildings and cars were thrown against walls as the Tornado marched through the suburbs of the City.
So, could this all be due to an average 3/4 degree C increase in the average temperature, is it coincidence that Hurricane Katrina caused more than $100 billion damage?
As the Gulf Stream flows, then huge amounts of heat are released, creating the warm winds that keep Europe's climate relatively mild. Without this heat, Europe would have a more hostile climate and Britain and we could see winter temperatures drop to minus -30C.
Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, has said that "In spite of warnings about cold spells, November 2005 in Scotland was yet another month with temperatures above average. 2005 is clearly on course to be another exceptional year." In spite of that, he said, the UK government appeared to be supporting president George Bush and undermining negotiations at the Montreal climate conference.
Compulsory carbon dioxide reduction targets are essential, said Dr Dixon: "Voluntary agreements won't work, and to have a deal on climate change that doesn't limit pollution is like a peace deal that lets everyone keep shooting.
Sources: On request and WWF Scotland.