It seemed unlikely after the miserable August we experienced in Wales that the month was a record-breaker globally. However, we were more in line last month. The Met Office (HQ and in Cardiff) confirmed last week that our September was the driest since records began in 1910. Now NASA has announced that it was also globally the warmest since 1880. The author of the Discover article goes on:
Later this week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will release its own, independent calculation of how September 2014 stacked up. Sometimes NOAA’s calculation differs. (But this month, I wouldn’t bet on it.)
Unless something really weird happens, 2014 is on track to be the warmest in the instrumental record.
The apparent levelling-off of global temperatures over the last ten years has been cited by climate-change sceptics from Nigel Lawson to Guido Fawkes as evidence that 90% of the world's scientists are wrong. The article concludes:
If you’ve ever had the flu you know that even while you are wracked by body aches, sneezing, coughing and other symptoms, your temperature can fluctuate. While on average it is high when you have the flu, you might experience periods when it subsides a bit.
Well, the same thing is true of the climate system. Symptoms of climate change abound, as detailed in the latest round of reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — from melting ice sheets, to rising sea levels, to some extreme weather events.
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In the meantime, keep in mind that 2014 is still on track to be the warmest on record. So that leveling in global average temperature over the past 10 years may be about to end.
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