Friday, April 26, 2024

Temperature rise in the Tropics (update 3)

The temperature in the Tropics (23.5°S-23.5°N, 0-360°E) reached a new record high on April 20, 2024 of 26.913°C (or 80.44°F). 


The image below shows the monthly temperature anomaly over the past few years through March 2024, when the anomaly reached a record high of 1.448°C (or 2.606°F).  


Note that anomalies in the above image are calculated from 1951-1980 as a base. When calculated from a pre-industrial base, anomalies will be much higher.

The rise in temperature threatens to cause widespread loss of life of people, livestock and wildlife, crop failure and ecosystem collapse in the tropics.

Climate Emergency Declaration

The situation is dire and the precautionary principle calls for rapid, comprehensive and effective action to reduce the damage and to improve the situation, as described in this 2022 post, where needed in combination with a Climate Emergency Declaration, as discussed at this group.



Links

• Climate Reanalyzer
https://climatereanalyzer.org

• Pre-industrial
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/pre-industrial.html

• Extinction
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/extinction.html

• Transforming Society
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/transforming-society.html

• Climate Plan
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/climateplan.html

• Climate Emergency Declaration
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/climate-emergency-declaration.html

Posts about the temperature rise in the Tropics in 2024 at facebook are at:
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Friday, April 12, 2024

North Atlantic heating up

Sea surface temperature at record high

The image below, created with Climate Reanalyzer screenshots, shows that the sea surface temperature (SST 60°S - 60°N mean) was 21.2°C on April 24, 2024, reaching yet another record high.

These record high sea surface temperatures are reached as long-term sea surface temperatures are falling and as El Niño is predicted to weaken, which is fueling fears that feedbacks are kicking in with accelerating ferocity. 

The image below, adapted from NOAA, shows global ocean temperature anomalies from 1901-2000, with the green line (LOcally Estimated Scatterplot Smoothing) giving a warning that higher temperature anomalies could be coming up. 

The image below, adapted from Copernicus, shows March 2024 sea surface temperature anomalies from 1991-2020. High anomalies show up, especially around the Equator which can be expected given that the amount of sunlight there is highest at this time of year. 


Carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa reaches new record high

The daily average carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, was 428.42 ppm on April 24, 2024. To find carbon dioxide levels this high, one needs to go back millions of years.  


The above image shows hourly (red) and daily (yellow) carbon dioxide averages at Mauna Loa for the last 31 days. 


This carbon dioxide level of 428.42 ppm reached on April 24, 2024, is 4.45 ppm higher than the level on April 24, 2023, as the above image shows.

North Atlantic heating up

The North Atlantic Ocean is now heating up rapidly, as more sunlight is starting to reach the Northern Hemisphere. The image below, adapted from Climate Reanalyzer, shows sea surface temperatures up to April 23, 2024. The image shows that 2024 temperatures have been significantly higher than 2023 temperatures for the same dates. The annual maximum temperature in 2023 was reached on August 31. Temperatures can be expected to rise dramatically over the next few months, in line with the change in seasons. 

Much will depend on the strength of the current El Niño over the next few months and El Niño is predicted to weaken, but as said there are fears that feedbacks are kicking in with accelerating ferocity. The image below, adapted from NOAA, shows monthly temperature anomalies versus 1901-2000 through March 2024, colored by El Niño/La Niña conditions. 


NOAA warns that there is a bit of a delay in the effects of any given ENSO phase. So, the first part of this year will still be influenced by El Niño, which is in part why NOAA predicts a 55% chance that 2024 will be hotter than 2023.

Further factors (other than El Niño) may continue to accelerate the temperature rise, as discussed in earlier posts such as this one. One danger is that, due to strong wind along the path of the Gulf Stream, huge amounts of ocean heat will abruptly get pushed into the Arctic Ocean, with the influx of ocean heat causing destabilization of hydrates contained in sediments at the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean, resulting in eruptions of huge amounts of methane, as discussed in earlier posts such as this one.

Arctic sea ice getting very thin

The image below indicates that Arctic sea ice volume has recently been the lowest on record for the time of year.

Given that Arctic sea ice currently is still relatively extensive, this low volume indicates that sea ice is indeed very thin, which must be caused by ocean heat melting sea ice from below, since little or no sunshine is yet reaching the Arctic at the moment and air temperatures are still far below freezing point, so where ocean heat may be melting sea ice away from below, a thin layer of ice will quickly be reestablished at the surface.

This situation looks set to dramatically change over the next few months, as air temperatures will rise and as more ocean heat will reach the Arctic Ocean. Moreover, as illustrated by the map below, much of the thicker sea ice is located off the east coast of Greenland. This sea ice and the purple-colored sea ice can be expected to melt away quickly with the upcoming rise in temperatures over the next few months.


The image below warns that sea ice in a large area from the Laptev Sea down to the North Pole may be very thin. 

Climate Emergency Declaration

The situation is dire and the precautionary principle calls for rapid, comprehensive and effective action to reduce the damage and to improve the situation, as described in this 2022 post, where needed in combination with a Climate Emergency Declaration, as discussed at this group.


Links

• Climate Reanalyzer
https://climatereanalyzer.org

• NOAA - Ocean temperature anomalies
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/global/time-series/globe/ocean/1/0/2015-2024?filter=true&filterType=loess

• Copernicus sea surface temperature anomalies
https://pulse.climate.copernicus.eu

• NOAA - Monthly Temperature Anomalies Versus El Niño
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202403/supplemental/page-4

• NOAA - ENSO update 
https://www.facebook.com/NOAAClimateGov/posts/821505663344434
also discussed at facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/arcticnews/posts/10161353804294679

• Did the climate experience a Regime Change in 2023?
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2024/04/did-the-climate-experience-a-regime-change-in-2023.html

• Atlantic ocean heat threatens to unleash methane eruptions
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/atlantic-ocean-heat-threatens-to-unleash-methane-eruptions.html

• University of Bremen - Arctic sea ice
https://seaice.uni-bremen.de/start

• Danish Meteorological Institute - Arctic sea ice thickness and volume
https://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icethickness/thk.uk.php

• Transforming Society
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/transforming-society.html

• Climate Plan
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/climateplan.html

• Climate Emergency Declaration
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/climate-emergency-declaration.html






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Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Did the climate experience a Regime Change in 2023?

The astonishing recent rise in temperatures makes one wonder whether a Regime Change did take place in 2023. 

The February 2024 temperature was 1.76°C above 1885-1915, potentially 2.75°C above pre-industrial (bright yellow inset right). The image was created by Sam Carana for Arctic-news.blogspot.com with an April 2024 data.giss.nasa.gov screenshot. The red line (6 months Lowess smoothing) highlights the Regime Change that may have occurred in 2023.

Meanwhile, NASA has released details for the March 2024 temperature, which was slightly lower (1.69°C above 1885-1915) than the February 2024 temperature (1.76°C above 1885-1915). Yet, the recent acceleration of the temperature rise has hardly changed, as highlighted by the red line. The question is whether this red line will continue with this steep rise.

The image below, created with NASA Land+Ocean monthly mean global temperature anomalies versus a 1900-1923 custom base, further adjusted by 0.99°C to reflect ocean air temperatures, higher polar anomalies and a pre-industrial base.

[ from earlier post ]

The above image shows a magenta trend that points at the temperature crossing 3°C above pre-industrial later this year (2024).

What could have caused such a steep rise? Of course, short-term variables such as El Niño did have a strong impact. However, sea surface temperatures have risen hugely for more than a year, far exceeding the temperatures of 2016, which was a strong El Niño year. This indicates that there must be other factors involved in the recent rise.

The image below shows world daily sea surface temperatures (60°S-60°N) through April 8, 2024. 


For more than a year, sea surface temperatures have been much higher than in any previous year on record, as if temperatures suddenly shifted into another gear and the climate experienced a Regime Change in 2023.

[ from the Extinction page ]
The top image illustrates that the temperature rise since pre-industrial could be as large as 2.75°C, as also discussed at the pre-industrial page. The extinction page points out that such a rise corresponds with almost ⅕ more water vapor in the atmosphere.

This increase in water vapor in the atmosphere is a self-reinforcing feedback, since water vapor is a powerful greenhouse gas, accelerating the temperature rise (as illustrated by the image on the right).

There is no single feedback behind the recent steep rise, instead there are numerous non-linear, self-reinforcing feedbacks that can all contribute, interact and start to kick in with greater ferocity, amplifying and accelerating the rise.

Such feedbacks include water vapor, storms, ocean stratification, loss of sea ice, loss of reflectivity of clouds and freshwater accumulating at the surface of oceans, due to stronger ice melting, due to heavier runoff from land and rivers and due to changes in wind patterns and ocean currents and circulation. Furthermore, developments such as the reduction in sulfur emissions from shipping over the past few years further push up the temperature rise.

Altogether, the temperature rise may exceed 18°C from pre-industrial by as early as 2026, as discussed at the Extinction page.

Climate Emergency Declaration

The situation is dire and the precautionary principle calls for rapid, comprehensive and effective action to reduce the damage and to improve the situation, as described in this 2022 post, where needed in combination with a Climate Emergency Declaration, as discussed at this group.


Links

• NASA - datasets and images
https://data.giss.nasa.gov

• Climate Reanalyzer
https://climatereanalyzer.org

• Pre-industrial
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/pre-industrial.html

• Extinction
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/extinction.html

• Jet Stream
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/jet-stream.html


• Arctic Ocean Feedbacks


Discussed at https://www.facebook.com/SamCarana/posts/10168994558830161


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