CLIMATE CHANGE: U.S. Winter Sets Another Warmth Record
G R E E N W I R E
© 2000 by National Journal Inc
Tuesday, March 21, 2000
For the third year in a row, the United States has set a record for winter warmth, a trend "consistent" with predictions based on the effects of increased greenhouse gas emissions (William K. Stevens, New York Times, March 11). But experts do not agree on whether the mild winters are a result of climate change (Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post , March 11). In a report issued March 10, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC, found that seasonal temperatures from December 1999 to February 2000 averaged 38.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 0.6 degrees warmer than last year (Brigitte Greenberg, AP / Philadelphia Inquirer /others, March 12). NCDC Climatologist Mike Changery said the winter has also "shortened on both ends." Shorter and mild winters are "consistent with a century-long warming trend that scientists believe has been at least partially caused by emissions of heat-trapping waste industrial gases like carbon dioxide." But Changery said "the jury is still out" on the exact cause of the trend. Other "prime suspects" include El Nino and La Nina, naturally occurring sea-surface temperature oscillations that affect wintertime atmospheric circulation (Stevens, New York Times ) Worldwide, the report said winter temperatures were the sixth-warmest on record after two consecutive record-setting years. Global precipitation was above average in many regions and heavy rains resulted in catastrophic flooding in Mozambique and other countries in southeast Africa (Greenberg, AP/ Philadelphia Inquirer /others).