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Saturday, July 07, 2012

The USA48 Problem: Warmer and Warmer

It seems to be dump-on-the-media time, for their daring to report on possible links between global warming and extreme weather events in the eastern US.

The problem, of course, is that it keeps getting warmer and warmer. The NOAA USA48 surface dataset shows the continental US at it warmest 12 months in their 117 year-long series. (Its 12-month moving average is now 0.85°F above the August 1934 peak). The UAH lower troposphere USA48 series is on the verge of setting a 12-month record.

Maybe if it stopped getting warmer, people will stop wondering what are its consequences.

Until then, they’re naturally going to ask. It is journalistically irresponsible to imply that every fire and heat wave is due to manmade global warming, but it would also be irresponsible not to ask the questions.

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