WattsUpWithThat? : “Arctic (Non) Warming since 1958
The blog WattsUpWithThat? has been quoted here at HoodaThunk? on a number of occasions. The consistent recourse to actual science over there is refreshing in the climate change debate, particularly since so few of the AGW viewpoint advocates do so. Today they feature a guest post by Steven Goddard that addresses the oft-proclaimed warming of the Arctic.
From time to time we hear that various places on earth have been “warming much faster than the rest of the planet – as predicted by “the models.” One of the places commonly mentioned in that list is the Arctic, based largely on 30 years of satellite data. Fortunately though, we are not limited by 30 years of satellite data, as the Danish Meteorological Institute has records going back to 1958 and GISSTEMP has even longer records.
Below is a visual comparison of DMI 1958 Arctic temperatures vs. 2009, showing that temperatures have hardly changed since the start of their record.
The charts shown in the post are quite revealing. The temperature readings, graphed out, show virtually no change whatsoever in the temperatures recorded in the Arctic in 1958 compared with this year, 2009. Goddard asks the pointed question, “So if the Arctic has warmed since 1979, how can it be [about the] same as 1958?” The answer is that between 1940 and 1980, temperatures in the Arctic dropped significantly. The truth of the matter is that the Arctic was warmer in 1940 than it is today. Add to that the fact that the Arctic didn’t completely thaw out last year as it had been predicted and you have to start wondering about the accuracy of those models people are clinging to when they start demanding all sorts of cap-and-trade schemes.
Kudos to the folks at WattsUpWithThat? for continuing to bring the rational to this debate.
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