Many climate change scientists predict that 2010 will be the hottest year in recorded history. Many people will say that this will not be the case, especially given the very cold winter in Europe and North America, but we must not forget that climate change is global phenomenon, and therefore if we look at the global data we can see that period from January to March was one of the seven warmest starts to the year on record.
The data gathered from Nasa also shows that global temperatures, averaged over the past 12 months, were the warmest for 130 years. And the warming trend looks very likely to continue for the rest of the year. According to Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice at the Met Office, the year 2010 has therefore more than a 50% chance of being the warmest on record.
The year 2010 has more than decent chance to become the warmest year on record.
Warming is not only connected with climate change but also with El Nino effect which has caused the ocean to release large amounts of heat into the atmosphere by making temporary shift in Pacific currents.
Some scientists like Kevin Trenberth from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado believe that warming trend in 2010 will be more the result of El Nino phenomenon rather than climate change.
In any case both these factors will likely play a huge role if average temperatures reach roof this summer. I say if because with climate you can never be sure, as Mother Nature tends to surprise climate change scientists from time to time.
Climate change to increase salinity in Baltic sea
Climate change and warmer temperatures are likely to increase salinity in the Baltic sea which could lead to major changes for the Baltic's sensitive ecosystems. The researchers from the University of Gothenburg have discovered that warmer temperatures as the result of climate change will likely reduce river runoff to the Baltic sea, and increase salinity in the Baltic Sea.
Scientists fear that increased salinity is likely to have extremely negative impact on sensitive life in this area, because Baltic is a unique ecosystem that contains both marine and freshwater species.
Even the tiny changes in salinity of Baltic sea could have major impact on these sensitive ecosystems because balance between salt and freshwater is very delicate, and needs to be maintained that way.
A saltier sea will no doubt benefit certain animal and plant species while doing great damage to other plants and animals, which could upset the entire ecosystem as it will break the delicate balance of these sensitive ecosystems.
Scientists also believe that there will be major regional differences at Baltic. Daniel Hansson, researcher at the Department of Geosciences said that "more freshwater runs off in the northern Baltic and Gulf of Finland when it's warmer, while the opposite occurs in the southern Baltic. The reason for this is that a warmer climate leads to increased rainfall in the north and east and less rainfall in the south. The decrease in the south is greater than the increase in the north, which means that overall the water will be saltier.
Scientists fear that increased salinity is likely to have extremely negative impact on sensitive life in this area, because Baltic is a unique ecosystem that contains both marine and freshwater species.
Even the tiny changes in salinity of Baltic sea could have major impact on these sensitive ecosystems because balance between salt and freshwater is very delicate, and needs to be maintained that way.
A saltier sea will no doubt benefit certain animal and plant species while doing great damage to other plants and animals, which could upset the entire ecosystem as it will break the delicate balance of these sensitive ecosystems.
Scientists also believe that there will be major regional differences at Baltic. Daniel Hansson, researcher at the Department of Geosciences said that "more freshwater runs off in the northern Baltic and Gulf of Finland when it's warmer, while the opposite occurs in the southern Baltic. The reason for this is that a warmer climate leads to increased rainfall in the north and east and less rainfall in the south. The decrease in the south is greater than the increase in the north, which means that overall the water will be saltier.
Arctic ice - Current condition
What is the current condition with Arctic's ice? Well, the latest report coming from an international science team led by Ohio State University says that less ice covers the Arctic today than at any time in recent geologic history, a clear sign of ongoing climate change.
This study should be noted trustworthy because researchers have compiled the first comprehensive history of Arctic ice by re-examining the data from past and ongoing studies (around 300 different studies), and combining their results to form a big-picture view of the North pole’s climate history stretching back millions of years.
Leonid Polyak, a research scientist at Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University said that "the ice loss that we see today is the ice loss that started in the early 20th Century and accelerated during the last 30 years, appears to be unmatched over at least the last few thousand years.
He also added that the newest satellite techniques and field observations allow scientists to see that the volume of ice is shrinking much faster than its area today, and that this is the sign for worry.
If we want to stop losing so much ice cover at Arctic then the world needs to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Climate talks at Copenhagen failed miserably showing yet again how little we care about our planet.
Ignorance won't be enough in this case because climate change is the biggest environmental problem in our history. If only politicians would understand this...
This study should be noted trustworthy because researchers have compiled the first comprehensive history of Arctic ice by re-examining the data from past and ongoing studies (around 300 different studies), and combining their results to form a big-picture view of the North pole’s climate history stretching back millions of years.
Leonid Polyak, a research scientist at Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University said that "the ice loss that we see today is the ice loss that started in the early 20th Century and accelerated during the last 30 years, appears to be unmatched over at least the last few thousand years.
He also added that the newest satellite techniques and field observations allow scientists to see that the volume of ice is shrinking much faster than its area today, and that this is the sign for worry.
If we want to stop losing so much ice cover at Arctic then the world needs to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Climate talks at Copenhagen failed miserably showing yet again how little we care about our planet.
Ignorance won't be enough in this case because climate change is the biggest environmental problem in our history. If only politicians would understand this...
Climate change in Arctic - Quick facts
In the last three decades, the Arctic ice has shrunk by about 10% a decade, which is around 28,000 square miles each year.
Polar bears are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and the loss of Arctic's ice. Polar bears have experinced significant decline in population in the last couple of years, and some scientists estimate that if current trend continues polar bears will become extinct before the end of this century.
Due to ever-increasing climate change impact many unique Arctic habitats for flora and fauna are disappearing. For instance we can already see tundra ecosystems being replaced by species typical of more southern locations, such as evergreen shrubs in some locations due to warmer temperatures. Some studies have even showed that the Arctic region was getting darker and absorbing more heat in the summer because of a significant shift in plant growth from grasses and lichen to larger shrubs over the past 30 years due to warmer temperatures.
Some recent studies have confirmed that surface temperatures over much of the Arctic landscape, have jumped six to 10 degrees C above normal in recent years, especially in summer months. One of the main reasons for this is the loss of reflective, white sea ice which causes more solar radiation to be absorbed by the dark water, heating surface layers further.
Additional reason to worry is the fact that the accelerated warming of the Arctic area will soon release more greenhouse gases from the Arctic that were previously locked in permanently frozen ground.
Arctic ice is not getting enough time to thicken because accelerated warming causes the surface water to get warmer, which delays the onset of freeze up in the winter and leads to a shorter period of ice growth.
Many studies have so far confirmed that nearly all Arctic's glaciers are decreasing in mass, resulting in rising sea levels.
In summer of 2008, for the first time in recorded history, both the north-west and north-east passages were ice-free.
The worst ice decline at Arctic was in the summer of 2007 when ice covered only 4.4m square kilometres.
Polar bears are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and the loss of Arctic's ice. Polar bears have experinced significant decline in population in the last couple of years, and some scientists estimate that if current trend continues polar bears will become extinct before the end of this century.
Due to ever-increasing climate change impact many unique Arctic habitats for flora and fauna are disappearing. For instance we can already see tundra ecosystems being replaced by species typical of more southern locations, such as evergreen shrubs in some locations due to warmer temperatures. Some studies have even showed that the Arctic region was getting darker and absorbing more heat in the summer because of a significant shift in plant growth from grasses and lichen to larger shrubs over the past 30 years due to warmer temperatures.
Some recent studies have confirmed that surface temperatures over much of the Arctic landscape, have jumped six to 10 degrees C above normal in recent years, especially in summer months. One of the main reasons for this is the loss of reflective, white sea ice which causes more solar radiation to be absorbed by the dark water, heating surface layers further.
Additional reason to worry is the fact that the accelerated warming of the Arctic area will soon release more greenhouse gases from the Arctic that were previously locked in permanently frozen ground.
Arctic ice is not getting enough time to thicken because accelerated warming causes the surface water to get warmer, which delays the onset of freeze up in the winter and leads to a shorter period of ice growth.
Many studies have so far confirmed that nearly all Arctic's glaciers are decreasing in mass, resulting in rising sea levels.
In summer of 2008, for the first time in recorded history, both the north-west and north-east passages were ice-free.
The worst ice decline at Arctic was in the summer of 2007 when ice covered only 4.4m square kilometres.
Climate change impact on food supply
Many
people connect climate change only with extreme weather events and
increased temperatures but climate change is much bigger problem that
has many different dimensions. One of these dimensions is no doubt food
supply, and according to the latest report from the Utrecht University
climate change will threaten the food supply of more than 60 million
people in Asia in the coming decades.The main reason why climate change will likely have this highly negative impact on food supply in Asia is because increased temperatures will drastically reduce the discharge of snow and ice meltwater in a region of the Himalayas.
It is estimated that more than one billion people depend on the meltwater supplied by the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yangtze and Yellow River. According to the scientists the most important is the meltwater in the Indus basin because the downstream sections of the Indus are dry, are home to one of the largest irrigation networks in the world and are completely dependent on meltwater.
The Dutch scientists believe that the Brahmaputra and Indus are the most vulnerable, and that this will threaten the food supply of the approximately 60 million people that live in these areas by the year 2050.
It also needs to be said that Dutch scientists do not include the possibility of the opposite scenario because in the Yellow River basin, an increase in wintertime rainfall is expected, resulting in increased availability of water early in the growing season.
This latest study was the combination of hydrologic models, climate forecasts from five different climate scenarios, and satellite images depicting snow and ice, rainfall, and changes in the Earth's gravitational field.
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