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Climate News & Issues

  • GLOBAL CHANGE ISSUES

    • The third part of the four-part report entitled Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change [35-page summary for policymakers in pdf file format] prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released on 4 May 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. This part of the IPCC report focuses upon the scientific, technological, environmental, economic and social aspects of mitigation of projected climate change.  Delegates contend that the technology and money are currently available to aggressively act to limit emissions of greenhouse gases, improve fuel efficiency and utilize renewable energy resources such as solar power so as to avoid increases in global temperatures and associated climate-related disasters.

     
    • A second part of the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability"  [21 page pdf file] was issued on 6 April 2007 that describes what the effects of the projected increases in global temperatures during the rest of the century would have upon societies and ecosystems, as well as upon the hydrologic cycle. Adaptation and vulnerability of these systems to climatic change are also addressed.
    • The first part of the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  IPCC 2007 Report [21 page pdf file] was issued on 2 February 2007 that describes the latest on human-caused global warming and future worsening.  This most authoritative report is based on six years of new observations and analyses.  The earlier report by this panel was  IPCC 2001 Summary: "The Definitive Scientific Basis for Global Warming".
    • The new American Meteorological Society's Information Statement on Climate Change [4 pages] was issued on 1 February 2007. This short report summarizes many topics covered in the IPCC report, in a shorter text and without figures.
       
    • Frequently asked questions on Global Warming from NCDC (National Climatic Data Center)
    • Global Climate Change Site from NCDC
    •  Scientists at the National Climatic Data Center recently announced that based upon their preliminary analysis of available weather data for 2006, the just completed year was the warmest nationwide since relatively comprehensive records began in 1895. The coterminous US annual average temperature was 55 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2.2 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th century long term average temperature and 0.07 Fahrenheit degrees above the previous highest nationwide temperature set in 1998.   [NOAA News]
    • NOAA issued its Annual Greenhouse Gas Index , which is based upon benchmark measurements of atmospheric gases that could affect the planetary climate.  For 2005, the index indicated an increase in carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, little change in methane and a decrease in two types of chlorofluorocarbons.
    • The US Climatic Change Science Program  issued a report in early May 2006 that is the first of 21 "Synthesis and Assessment S&A Products".  This first report entitled "Temperature Trends in the Lower Atmosphere: Steps for Understanding and Reconciling Differences" is meant to improve understanding of atmospheric temperature change in the context of global climate change and how humans have an influence upon these temperature trends.
    • NOAA  working to improve understanding of climatic change May 2004
    • A Paleo Perspective on Global Warming NOAA's Paleoclimatology Program
    • Causes of Climate Change Over the Past 1000 Years by Thomas Crowley
    • NOAA documents World's Oceans Warming over the past 40 years for the 1982-2002
    • Climate Predictions for our Region: A report prepared by a group of scientists, to include Professor John Magnuson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was released in 2003. The title of this report is A Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems. If projections of increased climate warming are correct, this report addresses the implications for the Great Lakes and Wisconsin.



  • NEWS OF STATE INTEREST
    • New local 3-month temperature outlook can be accessed for state cities -- People in Wisconsin can access their local National Weather Service Office Climate page to see the  new local three-month temperature outlook products for several cities in Wisconsin and adjacent states.  See
    • Third warmest first half of year across Badger State -- According to scientists at the National Climatic Data Center, the six-month interval of January-June 2006 was the third warmest in Wisconsin since detailed climate records began in 1895. [NOAA News]
    • Anniversary of Oakfield Tornado noted -- On the 10th anniversary of the F-5 tornado that ripped through Oakfield in Fond du Lac County, the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Milwaukee/Sullivan posted a news release, along with detailed description and pictures of the event. 
    • The storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald reanalyzed -- Scientists with the National Weather Service Forecast Offices in Marquette, MI and Cleveland, OH and with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, MI have recently completed a reexamination of the storm on 10 November 1975 that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in eastern Lake Superior as the ore carrier was attempting to seek shelter from the storm as it was moving eastward across the lake from Superior, WI.  Using available surface data from the time of the storm, the scientists used a newer and higher resolution model to track the storm.  This reanalysis indicates a detailed portrayal of the excessive winds and waves that helped sink the ship.
    • April was warm in Wisconsin -- Based upon preliminary statistics, scientists at the National Climatic Data Center calculated that the statewide average temperature for April 2006 across Wisconsin was 49.7 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes this past April the third warmest April in 112 years of record.  Only  April 1915 (51.2 degrees) and April 1955 (49.8 degrees) were warmer.  A statewide average April precipitation total of 2.99 inches was also calculated, which is slightly above the 20th century average, but is also the 41st wettest for the 112-year period of record that commences in 1895.
    • January records in the Badger State -- Using preliminary statistics from January 2006, the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) has provided :
      • an overview along with tabulation and maps of statewide temperatures for January 2006, which indicates that this month had the highest statewide January temperature since records began in 1895.
      • a preliminary list of the Selected U.S. City and State Extremes January 2006 that includes several noteworthy extremes in the temperature  and snowfall records for several stations in Wisconsin as well as across the nation. This page will be updated when additional information becomes available.
    • In a press release issued in mid December, climatologists at the National Climatic Data Center issued their initial assessments of the weather across the nation during 2005, including that in Wisconsin.  (For a national perspective, see below.)  At the time they issued their report, the temperature across the Badger State (for the first eleven months of the year) would have given 2005 a rank of 107, which would have been the 5th warmest year in the last 111 years (since 1895).  Preliminary statistics for the year obtained in early January 2006 indicate a statewide annual temperature of 45.4 degrees during 2005, which would tie 2001 for the 6th warmest year since extensive climate records began (or a rank of 106).   The statewide precipitation statistics appearing in the press release would have made 2005 the 39th driest year since 1895, but with the inclusion of data from December 2005, the year had a statewide average of 29.28 inches, which represents the 35th driest on record, tying 1944.      
    • According to the September 2005 monthly statistical summary from the National Climatic Data Center, the month was the fourth warmest September in the 111-year record across Wisconsin.
    • A statewide drought emergency was declared in July 2005 by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle to assist state farmers.
    • Be aware of wintertime hazards:
    • Be aware of summertime hazards:


  • NEWS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INTEREST
    • New local 3-month temperature outlook launched -- The director of NOAA's National Weather Service recently announced that the Weather Service has launched a new local three-month temperature outlook product for the continental United States that will be available to the public on the Internet for approximately 1150 locations across the country. [NOAA News]
    • Record warmth in first half of 2006  Based upon preliminary statistics, scientists at the National Climatic Data Center report that the just concluded six-month span of January through June 2006 was the warmest half year of any year across the continental United States since detailed and reliable climate records commenced in 1895. Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas in the central and southern Plains reported their highest statewide temperatures during this 112-year period of record. Much of the central sections of the nation also experienced below average precipitation, with Arizona, Colorado and Florida reporting much below average precipitation for the first six months of the year. On the other hand, the Northeast and the West Coast had above average precipitation for this first half of the year, with Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont reporting much above average precipitation. The weather conditions during the month of June maintained these trends, with the month being the second warmest June on record nationally. See also NCDC
    • Very active 2006 Atlantic hurricane season foreseen -- NOAA officials announced at a press conference that they anticipate a very active hurricane season in the North Atlantic Basin (including also the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico) that officially starts on 1 June 2006.  Their outlook is partially based on information obtained by the Climate Prediction Center that indicates neutral El Niņo/Southern Oscillation conditions. 
    • Record warmth in April 2006 -- A recently issued  press release indicates that scientists at the National Climatic Data Center  have determined that April 2006 was the warmest April in 112 years of record across the nation.  Based upon preliminary data, Texas and Oklahoma appear to have experienced their warmest April since 1895, when a relatively dense and consistent climate network was established nationwide.  Approximately 30 other states, including Wisconsin, had monthly temperatures that were much above average.  April 2006 resulted in near average precipitation totals nationwide, with the West Coast and the northern Rockies having much above average precipitation, while the central and southern Rockies, the Southwest, the Gulf Coast, Michigan and Maine were drier than average. 
    • Record warm January 2006 -- Scientists at the National Climatic Data Center issued a press release (7 February 2006) where they report that preliminary data indicate that the recently concluded month of January 2006 was the warmest January nationwide since relatively reliable climate records commenced across the country in 1895. They said that the nationwide temperature was 39.5 degrees, or 8.5 Fahrenheit degrees above the long-term (1895-2005) average. Fifteen states, extending from the northern Plains (Montana) eastward to the Great Lakes (Ohio) and southward across the Midwest to the lower Mississippi Valley (Arkansas), experienced their highest January temperatures in the 112-year period of record.
    • Initial national review of 2005 -- The mid-December press release from the National Climatic Data Center also described  other climatic events across the nation during 2005. The year had the most active North Atlantic hurricane seasons in more than 150 years, with record numbers of hurricanes and tropical storms, along with major hurricanes (category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). Four major hurricanes and three tropical storms made landfall on the coasts of the continental U.S. [Note:  At the end of December, Tropical Storm Zeta formed as the 27th named tropical system.]  The climatologists indicate that as of early December, the year 2005 appeared to be in line to become one of the 20 warmest years since 1895, when extensive nationwide climate records began. They also noted that 2005 was a year with large contrasts in precipitation across the nation. The states in the Northeast (New England States and New York State), the northern Plains (Minnesota and North Dakota) and the Great Basin (Utah and Nevada) should be either the wettest or within the ten wettest years in the 111-year long period. However, continued drought across the Mid-South, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest, with Arkansas appearing set to have the seventh driest year on record.

    • Scientists with the NOAA Climate Prediction Center announced in early February 2006  that  a  La Niña event appeared to be officially underway.   Such an event is an anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regime,  best typified by abnormally cold sea surface waters across the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, can produce anomalous events worldwide, such as increased storms along the Pacific Northwest and increased drought across the Southern and Southwestern States.

    • Current "State of the Climate" Report for the year  2005 from NCDC
    • US Drought Report for December 2005 from NCDC
    • NOAA scientists posted their final official 2005-2006 US Winter Outlook .
    • NOAA scientists post their  US Seasonal Drought Outlook for the first three months of 2006.
    • According to a  press release issued by the National Climatic Data Center, September 2005 was warmest September  on record globally since climate records became available world-wide in 1880.  Across the continental United States, September 2005 was the fourth warmest September since national climate records commenced in 1895.
    • In a press release, National Hurricane officials report that 2005 is tied with 1933 as having  the  greatest number of named tropical storms and hurricanes in the North Atlantic basin (including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico) in over 150 years of record.
    • Scientists at the National Climatic Data Center issued a press release indicating that the summer of 2005 (June, July and August) was the tenth warmest summer on record across the continental US.   They also reported that Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest hurricanes on record to have made landfall in the US, and it was the most destructive.  Later, Hurricane Rita became the third most intense hurricane in the North Atlantic basin in terms of minimum central air pressure. 
    • NCDC releases a summary of the 2004/2005 Northern Hemisphere Winter Season: Snow and Ice.
    • NCDC develops a US Climate Extremes Index.
    • Definition of  El Niño clarified
    • NCDC's State of the Climate in 2003
    • Midwest may not be warming as fast as predicted. [St. Louis University]
    • New NOAA/EPA Ultra Violet Index unveiled May 2004
    • Economic Statistics for NOAA (3rd edition, April 2004)
    • Other American Meteorological Society Statements Presently in Force or Under Consideration



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    Latest revision:  22 May 2007

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