February 2, 2009

so if it’s supposed to be getting warmer, how come it’s snowing? – experts put the weather in the context of climate change

This question was inevitably asked following the recent bout of extreme weather across the UK. Some leading climate experts take on the issue.

Prof Kevin Anderson, Research Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, said:

“It is important to remember that what we are experiencing now is a ‘weather’ event – and not climate. Climate is the average of such events over the longer term. So today’s weather, or even a few very hot days in July, tells us little about climate change. A warming world will continue to have cold days and even weeks, just fewer of them.”

Dr Vicky Pope, Head of Climate Change Advice at the Met Office, said:

“The evidence is clear – the long-term trend is that global temperatures are rising, and humans are largely responsible for this rise. Global warming does not mean that each year will be warmer than the last. Natural phenomena will mean that some years will be snowier than others, just as some years will be warmer and some will be cooler.

“In fact the kind of winter we are experiencing at the moment is likely once every 20 years today instead of once every 5 years before the industrial revolution.”