As we continue to muddle along dependent on fossil fuels, which are being extracted in increasingly destructive ways, we see unmistakable changes taking place all around us that we’re damaging the natural world so essential to our survival. Most prominent among those indicators is increasing global surface temperatures. This year we can already say that we are experiencing the hottest year on record, and we’ve got three months to go!
Just like 2015 WAS the hottest year on record.
And just like 2014 WAS the hottest year on record.
Global warming continues; 2016 will be the hottest year ever recorded
By John Abraham
We know the world is warming – no factor can explain it aside from human emissions of greenhouse gases. Despite this, people who deny the basic facts of climate change have tried to argue that the Earth is either not warming or is only slowly heating. Well that just isn’t true anymore. The last three years are the nail in the coffin of the deniers of climate change. We have enough data this year to call 2016 as the hottest year ever record – and we have three more months left to go.
A few things to note. First, these temperatures are surface temperatures that are taken across the globe. But, you can measure temperatures elsewhere and see the same result. Most importantly, measurements in the oceans, where 93% of the extra heat is stored are the best proof of global warming. I recently coauthored an open-access paper on this very topic which interested readers can get here.
Before we get too anxious, it is almost certain that 2017 will be cooler than 2016. In fact, we may not set another record for a few years. But just as a few hot years doesn’t prove global warming, a few cooler years wont disprove it. The long-term trend is clearer upwards through and the models are spot on.
All this aside, there are still things we can do to bend the arc of this curve. There are actions we can take as individuals and as collectives to reduce our emissions and our dependence on polluting fuels. That message is, and continues to be, the most important one.
But one thing we cannot do is deny facts.
While next year might not break the record, the trend is unmistakable. Continuing our dependence on fossil fuels might allow us to muddle through in the short term, but our descendants will pay a very high price in diminished quality of life for our inertia.
As a species we face a threat to human civilization itself, and we need to start mitigating that threat by moving away from fossil fuel consumption as quickly as we can.
Or we can expect to see more scenes like this: