Heat Records Shatter as a Monster El Nino Gathers Strength

[GennGreymane]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/featur...thers-strength

This has been by far the hottest year on record, and the thermometer just keeps rising. Blame climate change and a merciless El Nino, which is still gathering strength in the Pacific Ocean.

Last month was the hottest October in 136 years of data, according to U.S. figures released Wednesday, making it the eighth record-breaking month so far in this record-breaking year. This week the El Nino weather pattern started setting records of its own, with some of the warmest weekly temperatures ever seen across swaths of the equatorial Pacific.

El Nino has already triggered powerful typhoons, spoiled cocoa harvests in Africa, and contributed to vast fires in Indonesia. The effects are just getting started, and this El Nino may carry on through late spring or early summer, according to the U.S. Climate Prediction Center. The heat that's dispersed into the atmosphere during an El Nino can linger, which means 2016 could be yet another record-hot year worldwide.

Every El Nino is unique, and this year isn't yet considered the worst. By most measures, that title is held by 1997-98, which recorded the highest sustained temperatures over a three-month period.1 If current conditions persist, 2015 could exceed that.

Last month wasn't just the hottest October on record—it was the biggest departure from normal for any month in the past 136 years, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Results from the world's top monitoring agencies vary slightly, but this month, the NOAA, the Japan Meteorological Agency, and NASA are all in agreement: October was brutal. The past few months have been so extreme that 2015 will go down as the hottest year on record even if November and December are unusually cool (which they won't be).

We are in uncharted territory. These new milestones follow the hottest summer on record, the hottest 12 months on record, the hottest calendar year on record (2014), and the hottest decade on record. The animation below shows the Earth's warming climate, recorded in monthly measurements from land and sea dating back to 1880. Temperatures are displayed in degrees above or below the 20th century average. Thirteen of the 14 hottest years have come in the 21st century, and it's only the beginning.

[Sky High]

California eagerly awaits ANY sign of precipitation.

[Jotaux]

I'm really worried about snow on the mountains. We had a terrible ski season last year but this year is looking good so far (Cypress mountain opens friday). With El Nino on the way that could change.

[GennGreymane]

I'm really worried about snow on the mountains. We had a terrible ski season last year but this year is looking good so far (Cypress mountain opens friday). With El Nino on the way that could change.

thats def more water. Cali needs water, but it does not need atlantis levels of water.

[theostrichsays]

thats def more water. Cali needs water, but it does not need atlantis levels of water.

Hey now, I would like to buy some beach front property in Western Nevada.

[DeltrusDisc]

Holy shit.

I knew October was bad... I live north of Chicago, IL and it was and has continued to be unseasonably warm, but I didn't hear it was that over the averages/records.

This doesn't bode well at all...

[Nanaboostme]

Well, I know people in CA are both waiting for and afraid of the coming El Nino. We need the water, but not all at once.

Either no water or too much water.

Then again, here in LA, we can overreact with anything. Flags flap? Unbelievable!!!!

[Tierbook]

Holy shit.

I knew October was bad... I live north of Chicago, IL and it was and has continued to be unseasonably warm, but I didn't hear it was that over the averages/records.

This doesn't bode well at all...

It may not have been in Chicago, the US on average has been rather close to the moving average except in a few areas from what I've seen, outside of the US there's only 1 area in Antarctica and some water off Australia that's below average

[Faesroll]

What is an el nino?

[Pony Soldier]

We're nearing the end of November now and it still feels like spring. What the actual fuck? I want some god damn snow already!

- - - Updated - - -

What is an el nino?

[Nanaboostme]

What is an el nino?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1o

[Osmeric]

What is an el nino?

It's an shift of surface water temperature in the Pacific Ocean, where the eastern Pacific becomes unusually warm and the western unusually cool. The technical term is "ENSO" (El Nino Southern Oscillation). The shift induces changes in weather patterns around the world. The last big one was 1997-1998, when world temperatures also spiked up.

BTW, if you ever see people claiming "global warming stopped in 1998!", it's because they're pointing to the previous big El Nino as their baseline.

[Kontinuum]

Great premise for a movie
Godzilla vs El Nino

[Nanaboostme]

Great premise for a movie
Godzilla vs El Nino

Isn't Godzilla the one that creates a faux-el nino once he emerges from the water? I would also think an el nino would be beneficial for Godzilla

[Gheld]

It's an shift of surface water temperature in the Pacific Ocean, where the eastern Pacific becomes unusually warm and the western unusually cool. The technical term is "ENSO" (El Nino Southern Oscillation). The shift induces changes in weather patterns around the world. The last big one was 1997-1998, when world temperatures also spiked up.

BTW, if you ever see people claiming "global warming stopped in 1998!", it's because they're pointing to the previous big El Nino as their baseline.

There's also people who end their charts of "increasing temperature" at the 1997-1998 El Nino spike. So it's a point of massive intellectual dishonestly on all sides of that debate.

[Naxere]

Loving it here in Minnesota. Let's keep fishing season open a little bit longer and hold off on the snow until after Thanksgiving. Thanks global warming!

[Osmeric]

There's also people who end their charts of "increasing temperature" at the 1997-1998 El Nino spike. So it's a point of massive intellectual dishonestly on all sides of that debate.

Actually, the people pointing to increasing temperature don't need to do that, they can just point to the average trend over (say) 30 years of data.

The denialists are the ones that don't have an alternative to dishonesty.

I fully expect in the future we'll see "Global Warming Stopped in 2016!" claims.

[Ghostpanther]

thats def more water. Cali needs water, but it does not need atlantis levels of water.

That is how it works a lot of times. Ether too much or not enough. I do not think since the Garden of Eden we have had perfect weather any place. :P
And like the old saying, "Records are made to be broken".

[AssaultDrone]

Actually, the people pointing to increasing temperature don't need to do that, they can just point to the average trend over (say) 30 years of data.

The denialists are the ones that don't have an alternative to dishonesty.

Many of the studies that "prove" global warming use very manipulated and distorted data. They ignore things that don't fit the pattern they want to show by claiming that it's an "outlier" or "must be a mistake". Using those tactics, you can use the exact same data set to show that the temperature is actually decreasing by labeling the high temperatures as the "outliers".

[Daelak]

Many of the studies that "prove" global warming use very manipulated and distorted data. They ignore things that don't fit the pattern they want to show by claiming that it's an "outlier" or "must be a mistake". Using those tactics, you can use the exact same data set to show that the temperature is actually decreasing by labeling the high temperatures as the "outliers".

Holy shit guys, I think we are witnessing the groundbreaking argumentation falsifying climate change science! Everyone call your respective science academies and foundations, GET THE NOBEL LAUREATE PEOPLE ON THE LINE! You are going to be the most famous and respected amateur scientist in the history of mankind by disproving anthropomorphic climate change! Wooo HOOO everyone we are saved!!!!1one!