Last year (2011), we saw record levels of greenhouse gases, and almost record levels of ice melting in the Arctic sea. The temperature of 2011 was the 11th highest to ever be recorded.
Europe and Africa saw droughts and heat waves. We saw extreme heat, extreme cold, extreme dry, and extreme wet. Population levels hit 7 billion. There was the second worst nuclear accident.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is part of the US government, and the measurements taken of land and sea temperatures show that warming of the world carried on through 2011. The organisation reported that for the last three hundred months, the temperature every month has been above average.
Things are already getting extreme, but what might be in store in the future?
Image Source: metoffice.gov.uk
Drought
The Southern states of the US experienced crippling droughts during 2011. US Scientists researching the climate have estimated that there could be a significant lengthening of spells without rain for eastern Brazil, southern Europe, and western United States amongst several other areas. These predictions are based on varying scales of greenhouse gas build up. The greater the greenhouse gas build up, the greater the impact of the symptoms.
Image Source: cosmosmagazine.com
British climatic scientists also released findings that drought could double before the end of this century as a result of global warming. It is thought that drought of this scale could threaten the lives of many of the global population.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggested in a study that the Russian heat wave responsible for many deaths in 2010 was most likely caused as a result of global warming.
The chief scientist at the UK’s International Development department, Professor Sir Gordon Conway, predicts that Africa is warming faster, and will be likely to see more intense droughts, flooding and storm weather. Over the next century the continent could become as much as 4C warmer, and as a result will become much drier.
Flooding
The Arctic sea hit a record low in September 2011 according to data from a NASA satellite. Christopher Kinnard, form the Centre for Advanced Studies in Arid Zones made a statement that the current decline in sea ice had an unprecedented magnitude and duration for the past 1,450 years.
The Mississippi river and the Missouri rivers both burst their banks last year. Both North America and Australia experienced massive flooding.
Image Source: theepochtimes.com
According to computer simulation carried out by US climate researchers, areas on the globe above 40 degrees north will see a significant increase in the amount of heavy rain and precipitation. This includes most of Europe, and northern US states as well as Canada.
Warmer air is able to hold more water. This means that monsoons and day-long storms will be more intense, and drop more precipitation, resulting in higher levels of flooding and possible drainage problems. Thailand, for example, is a country that has struggled with flooding as a result of monsoonal rains and this could be seen increasingly frequently across the globe.
