strange climate changes

[gingerflaps]

is it me or is the world havin a strange climate change. it seems to be getting hotter then goes cold, i know thats the typical english weather for you but last yr we had showers in the summer like i've never seen before, it was like the amazon rain forest showers. is the end of the world coming?

[twiglet4frog]

well summers are getting hotter than ever and the winters are becoming rarer for snow each year so maybe this global warming is showing its effects!

[jake-the-peg]

Tough to tell, you can't judge climate changes on observations of one or two years in a small area like the UK.

But for example if you look at how glaciers have been steadily receding over the last few years it's clear that the overall temperature is rising.

How much of this is due to human activity is a matter of great speculation we've seen mini ice ages with frost fairs on the Thames and I think temperatures in Roman times were significantly higher than now.

One thing for sure though at a time when climate change is taking place pumping large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere is dumb, and not taking any action is even dumber.

[brachiopod]

Add to this more effective reporting of "strange" weather events compounds our perception that storms are getting worse etc.

These events are nothing new and have always happened somewhere.

However, now the ubiquity of video cameras means that there are plenty of images of flash floods shot by the public that can be broadcast within hours of an event happening - wherever it happens to be.
Together with the speed of news gathering today, follow-up news crews can be there just as quick with "live" and "at the scene" broadcasts that firmly imprint the event in our minds. (qv. Boscastle, York floods etc)
Even only twenty years ago, events such as these would have been just an oral news report with perhaps a picture or two of a rapidly drying muddy puddle.

Once one well document event occurs, the subject becomes very news-worthy, and thus subsequent events are given extra coverage.
This further (and falsely) imprints the now apparently frequent occurrence of such events on our minds. (Especially in the summer - or 'Silly Season' as it's known in the journalistic world, where there is little Parliamentary.)

A prime example of this is on television tonight (I think) - a big scare-mongering programme entitled 'Freaky Weather' or somesuch nonsense, giving the impression that such weather is somehow unusual. It is not.

I'm not denying the significance of 'Global Warming' and CO2 emissions, but the media does have a big influence on our perceptions.

(I may come back to this, but I've got to pick my son up from nursery!)

[HAnn521]

Well all I have to say is...it was a little frightening to me to read this post today! I know you actually posted a few days ago, but I just saw the term "strange weather" and flashes from War of the World, which I just saw last night, are flying through my mind! Enough talk about the freaky weather now b/f I get scared!  :0)