2003 Likely Europe's Hottest in 500 Years

[Kooperman]

2003 Likely Europe's Hottest in 500 Years

1 hour, 23 minutes ago

By PAUL RECER, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON - Last year's deadly summer in Europe probably was the hottest on the continent in at least five centuries, according to researchers who analyzed old records, soil cores and other evidence. More than 19,000 people died.

Researchers at the University of Bern, Switzerland, collected and analyzed temperature data from all over Europe, including such climate measures as tree rings from 1500. They found that the climate has been generally warming and last summer was the most torrid of all.

"When you consider Europe as a whole, it was by far the hottest," said Jurg Luterbacher, climatologist and the first author of a study appearing this week in the journal Science.

Luterbacher said the study showed that European winters are also warmer now. The average winter and annual temperatures during the three decades from 1973 to 2002 were the warmest of the half millennium, he said.

Some studies have linked rising average temperatures in North America and elsewhere to global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels, but Luterbacher said his team did not attempt to make such a connection.

"We don't make any analysis of the human influence," he said. "We don't attempt to determine the cause. We only report what we find."

Other climatologists, however, say the new study agrees with models that have predicted a steady rise in global temperature as the result of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and other sources.

Stephen Schneider, a climate expert at Stanford University and a prominent advocate for the theory of human-caused global warming, said the Luterbacher paper is consistent with what climate modelers have been predicting for 20 years.

"The data is starting to line up showing that those projections were correct," Schneider said. "We warned the world that this was likely to happen because we believed the theory, but couldn't actually prove it was happening. Now the data is coming in."

In the study, Luterbacher and his team analyzed the temperature history of Europe starting in 1500 to the present. For the earliest part of the half millennium, the figures are estimates based on proxy measures, such as tree rings and soil cores. But after about 1750, he said, instrumented readings became generally available throughout Europe.

During the 500 years, there were trends both toward cool and toward hot. The second hottest summer in the period was in 1757. That was followed by a cooling trend that continued until early in the 20th century. The summer of 1902, for instance, was the coolest of the entire record.

Starting in 1977, the record shows "an exceptionally strong, unprecedented warming," the researchers report, with average temperatures rising at the rate of about 0.36 degrees per decade.

Then came last summer.

"The summer of 2003 exceeded 1901 to 1995 European summer temperatures by around 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit)," the study said. "Taking into account the uncertainties (in the study method), it appears that the summer of 2003 was very likely warmer than any other summer back to 1500."

Record temperatures were recorded in most of the major cities of Europe last summer, with many readings over 100 degrees. Authorities have attributed thousands of deaths to the excess heat, making the heat wave one of the deadliest weather phenomena in the past century.

In France, the toll was estimated at about 14,802 dead. About 2,000 more than normal died in August in England and Wales. On Aug. 11, Britain's hottest day on record, there were 363 more deaths than average and the temperature reading reached 101.3 in Brogdale in southeastern England.

Altogether in Europe, based on official numbers collected by The Associated Press, there were more than 19,000 excess deaths in the summer months. France was hardest hit, but the average number of summer deaths increased by 4,175 in Italy, 1,300 in Portugal and more than 1,000 in the Netherlands.

The intense heat also wilted crops, caused wildfires and continued a centurylong trend of melting the continent's glaciers.

Luterbacher said some mountain glaciers have shrunk by 50 percent in the past century in Europe, and some ice fields lost 10 percent of their mass last summer alone.

In addition, he said, the long trend of warming temperatures is now melting the high altitude permafrost — the soil that usually remains frozen year-round — and that some buildings, bridges and roadways are now threatened with unstable foundations.

And it may get worse, said Luterbacher. He said some studies forecast that if the warming trend continues, Europe may have summers like 2003 every other year starting late in this century.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...corching_europe

[Ken]

Some studies have linked rising average temperatures in North America and elsewhere to global warming

What?

Ok, i'll spare you the disgusted rant.

Let me just say this. I do not believe in the degree of global warming that special interest driven scientists are portraying.

I have a strong distrust of them, namely because they continue to fudge numbers on acid rain, and my area (i've done tests, from puddles to the Buffalo river, to Lake Erie).

-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For one, in the northeast of the U.S., we

A. Had a cool summer

B. Had one of the coldest winters on record

They should just call it "Selective Warming", instead of "Global Warming".

[method77]

global warming may not be as big as the scientists said but yes, the temrerature has gone up. The poles are melting and it's a fact. Summers here are warm but last 3 summers were TOO warm.

[Shawn]

I think to see the increase you have to look at long term change. Even looking at just the last 10 years is useless. Some factor may increase or lower tempature for a year or two, but it probably bounces close to normal after that. A degree a year of overall change is unlikely, but even half a degree every ten years means 5 degrees of difference in a century.

[method77]

that's too much

[Shawn]

Yep.

We need some way to colonize Mars.

[method77]

I think mars is a bit too cold

[Ken]

I think to see the increase you have to look at long term change. Even looking at just the last 10 years is useless. Some factor may increase or lower tempature for a year or two, but it probably bounces close to normal after that. A degree a year of overall change is unlikely, but even half a degree every ten years means 5 degrees of difference in a century.

True, but before the whole global warming thing, scientists were hinting at the possibility that we may enter another ice age.

Truth is....................ah who gives a fuck.

Warm, cold.

We're all fucked anyway.

:poop:

[Malicious Intent]

True, but before the whole global warming thing, scientists were hinting at the possibility that we may enter another ice age.

Which is what that ZP thread said. We are heading towards siberian weather.

I had just thrown away my shorts and got a snuggly winter jacket. Now it's back to me needing shorts again.

I can't keep up.