September 14, 2015

Met Office Report: Big changes underway in the climate system?

Changing phenomena such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Nino can temporarily compete with and mask the effects of global climate change. This can make for a complex and confusing picture.

A new report from the Met Office examines the latest behaviour of some of these key climate patterns against the backdrop of global warming. How are current patterns affecting the climate? What’s happening with the global warming slowdown? What can we expect in the near future? And does any of this change our understanding of the longer-term trends?

Two of the report’s authors and one reviewer came to the SMC to discuss the most up-to-date evidence behind this report.

Speakers:

Prof. Adam Scaife (via phone), Head of the Monthly to Decadal Prediction Group at the Met Office Hadley Centre, and lead author of the paper

Prof. Stephen Belcher, Professor of Meteorology and Head of Met Office Hadley Centre, and co-author

Prof. Rowan Sutton, Director of Climate Research at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), University of Reading, and reviewer of the paper