To shear or not to shear – these 5 images show El Niño’s possible effect on Atlantic hurricanes, and other jet stream stuff

Ten years after Katrina* the world is on the brink of a whole new cluster of climatic disasters, including wide-spread coral bleaching, Pacific atol floods, possibly another devasting Brazil drought and another record-breaking hot year, following from the currently developing … Continue reading

Two hottest years ever: 2014 will set new world temperature record – and 2015 will break it

El Niño Southern Oscillation index: duration and intensity of La Niña and El Niño years. El Niño is usually defined as a positive temperature anomaly in the east and central tropical Pacific. Another way to express the climate phenomenon is … Continue reading

´Medieval Warm Period should simply be named Medieval Period´

There is climatology and there is paleoclimatology. And then there is something in between. You thought yesterday´s trip to the early Pleistocene was geologically speaking exactly that, a trip to yesterday? Well, in that case today we go only a … Continue reading

Russian heat wave 2010: extreme weather or within new normal climate?

One could focus on the rise in average temperatures and wonder to what extent this will increase the chance of weather extremes. One can of course also walk the opposite route: take a witnessed extreme – and examine if that … Continue reading

Today´s paradox: European cold winters associated with Arctic warming – and positive(!) AO

Warming in the Arctic would increase the chance of cold winters in Europe and parts of North America and Asia. There have now been three consecutive studies that reach this conclusion in as many years. That means it is about … Continue reading

Strong re-emergence of La Niña off northern Queensland coast – SST anomalies again up to 2-3 degrees – above average rains for weeks to come

With the current La Niña strongly in place at the onset of the Australian monsoon and reaching predicted optimum strength at the height of the rainy season the risk of experiencing a repeat of the Queensland floods of 2010-2011 is … Continue reading

Good news? According to paleo research median CO2 climate sensitivity could be 0.7 degrees lower

The most-quoted climate sensitivity range (IPCC 4AR) suggests a median temperature response to a doubling of the atmospheric CO2 concentration of 3 degrees Celsius – and a 66 percent probability range warming under CO2-doubling will be somewhere between 1.5 and … Continue reading

Holocene climatic changes were local phenomena – except current warming

Of course you know these people that by now feel a bit cornered and say ‘okay, perhaps temperatures are going up. But that’s what it does, the global climate changes all the time.’ Well, to keep things simple: no, it … Continue reading

Ice age riddle nr2: If Lake Agassiz drained at wrong time, what caused Younger Dryas?

In our first ice age riddle a couple of days ago we looked at the link between CO2 rise and ice retreat, after the last ice age had reached its max, some 18,000 years ago.