[FORUM] What do you think about the bizarrely warm Christmas weather?

[rfmcdpei]

Earlier this evening, I shared some photos from the bizarrely warm weather we've been having. Whether it's freakish or the new normal, it's the reality I've been experiencing. I don't think I like it: It reminds me that we humans have broken our planet.

What do you think? Discuss.

Comments

[dewline]

I am disturbed by the state of the weather these past few weeks. Also, reminded strongly that this isn't the first year we've had to deal with this. Remembering back in 2002 that we had little more than traces of ice and snow on the ground despite the temperatures being fairly close to seasonal norms that year.

[anonymous]

Selfishly, I like it. No shovelling, no icy roads.

My first year in Toronto for Christmas (late 80s) had weather like this at Christmas time - shorts and sandals - and my hosts said that it was unusual but not abnormal for late December.

[mmcirvin]

Unseasonably warm winters have happened in the past, and part of what we're seeing now is undoubtedly some combination of the El Niño cycle and random variation. However, when you have record high temperatures happening at a constant rate, rather than decreasing with 1/t from the time you start keeping records... that's a sign of a genuine upward trend. And that's what we've got.

[mmcirvin]

Speaking purely selfishly, it's nice to not have to shovel out my car every few days (and we've got some snow predicted for Tuesday, so things may feel more like normal very soon).

But this is short-sighted: I remember full well what last winter was like, and the fact that for the US East Coast, global warming can equally well mean more energy in snowstorms once the temperature dips below freezing. We may pay for this come the New Year.

[autopope]

Have you been following the news from South America -- or the UK, for that matter?

(South America: mass evacuations -- over 150,000 people -- in Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil. UK: major city centres flooded out yesterday, storms every week dumping 100-200mm of rain in some areas in under a day -- monsoon levels of rain. Rivers bursting their banks and running meters above their all-time highest recorded level.)

[dewline]

I've seen images of the flooding around Cumbria. That landslide in mainland China. Looking at the Goya footage on theguardian.com as I type this.

Ottawa-Gatineau's been getting off lightly indeed.