2008-03-04

Global Cooling


The world has seen some extraordinary winter conditions in both hemispheres over the past year: snow in Johannesburg last June and in Baghdad in January, Arctic sea ice returning with a vengeance after a record retreat last summer, paralyzing blizzards in China, and a sharp drop in the globe’s average temperature.
World Temperatures according to the Hadley Center for Climate Prediction. Note the steep drop over the last year.
DailyTech - Temperature Monitors Report Widescale Global Cooling

Scientists quoted in a past DailyTech article link the cooling to reduced solar activity which they claim is a much larger driver of climate change than man-made greenhouse gases. The dramatic cooling seen in just 12 months time seems to bear that out. While the data doesn't itself disprove that carbon dioxide is acting to warm the planet, it does demonstrate clearly that more powerful factors are now cooling it.
A typical sunspot compared to the size of the earth. Sunspots have all but vanished in recent years.
DailyTech - Solar Activity Diminishes; Researchers Predict Another Ice Age

related:
Skeptics on Human Climate Impact Seize on Cold Spell - New York Times
DailyTech - Solar Activity Diminishes; Researchers Predict Another Ice Age
DailyTech - Temperature Monitors Report Widescale Global Cooling
Ice Age