Climate change is occurring “faster than feared,” according to the latest news article making the rounds in the international press. According to an Agence France-Press (French Press Agency) article picked up by newspapers around the globe, not only is climate changing faster than previously predicted or feared, but the French Press Agency says nobody should be surprised. For people not sure who to believe in the global warming debate, the French Press Agency article provides a powerful illustration of how alarmists have no credibility.
To back up its assertion of faster than feared climate change, the article claims, “Nearly every day, peer-reviewed studies on global warming warn that deadly impacts will come sooner and hit harder than once thought. Virtually none, however, suggest that previous predictions of future heatwaves, droughts, storms, floods or rising seas were overblown.”
If you look any deeper into the article for scientific data or facts, you will be disappointed. There are none. The closest the article gets to presenting any science to support the faster-than-predicted climate change theory is asserting without any scientific support that polar ice loss is occurring faster than predicted and then quoting a well-known alarmist vaguely claiming there are more extreme weather events than predicted.
Perhaps there is a reason why no scientific data or evidence are presented. NASA satellites have been measuring polar ice extent since 1979, and there has been only a 5-10% decline in polar ice extent during the past 40 years – a number that is within the margin of error (http://www.climate4you.com/images/NSIDC%20GlobalArcticAntarctic%20SeaIceArea.gif). Considering that 1979 was at the end of a 35-year global cooling spell and polar ice was likely more extensive than it had been since at least the very early 1900’s, a mere 10% decline in polar ice since 1979 is less concerning – rather than more concerning – than anyone could have predicted or feared.
Facts and data regarding extreme weather events are even more soothing. Hurricanes are no more frequent (http://wx.graphics/tropical/frequency_12months.png), major hurricanes are less frequent (http://wx.graphics/tropical/global_major_freq.png), tornado activity has significantly declined (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology/trends), and extremes in wetness and drought have declined (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/uspa/wet-dry/0#data-select). By any objective measure, more extreme weather events are nowhere to be found.
The French Press Agency claim that “Nearly every day, peer-reviewed studies on global warming warn that deadly impacts will come sooner and hit harder than once thought” is true. The global warming establishment makes increasingly alarming predictions every day. But with each new over-the-top and factually rebutted claim, alarmist credibility continues to suffer.
Claims are one thing, and real-world evidence is another. Examine the facts and decide for yourself.