Climatologist Dr Judith Curry Debunks Climate Hysteria About 2023's Hot Weather

[AlleyCat]

DOCTOR Judith Curry Debunks Climate Hysteria about 2023's Hot Weather

(YOUR credentials, please?)

There have been a number of unusual climate patterns around the Earth this year
and some scientists are making excellent progress in providing some reasonable
explanations. The distinguished climate scientist Dr. Judith Curry has come up
with some interesting answers by examining recent changes in heat balances at
both the top of the atmosphere and the internal flows driven by the air and
ocean currents at the surface. In addition she has considered contributions
made by the switch from El Nino to La Nina, the Hunga Tonga underwater volcanic
eruption and changes in atmospheric aerosols caused by ships using less
polluting fuels. Any increase in the greenhouse effect from increasing carbon
dioxide "is lost in the noise", she states.

This latter conclusion, of course, will mean that Curry's excellent work will
be ignored in the mainstream media, which largely follow the view of the UN's
IPCC that most climate change is caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Curry's
research is a detailed piece of scientific work, and the full paper can be seen
here. I shall try to highlight some of the most significant features, showing
how scientists can harness the power of observation to add to their knowledge
about how the chaotic and non-linear atmosphere actually operates.

In Curry's view, the recent warming in spring/summer 2023 is associated with a
spike in heat flows at the top of the atmosphere. The warming is said to
reflect an increase in incoming shortwave radiation - essentially the sun is a
bit brighter - a decrease in high level cloudiness, the impact of reduced ship
sulphate aerosols, reduced snow and ice extent and the Hunga Tonga eruption
that propelled 13% extra water vapour into the stratosphere.

At the surface, there was anomalous sunlight heating in the mid-latitudes of
the Northern Hemisphere, and again Curry notes the involvement of reduced
sulphate particles from ship fuel. The eastern North Atlantic is said to have
warmed from anomalously low turbulent heat flows, reflecting weak surface winds
particularly in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. In the mid/high latitudes of
the Southern Hemisphere oceans, there was strong cooling from surface turbulent
flows that are associated with strong wind speeds.

Curry provides a dispassionate analysis of some of the anomalies, or departure
from recently recorded norms, in stark contrast to the hysterical reporting
found in mainstream media. Earlier this month, the BBC reported that ocean heat
records were broken, "with grim implications for the planet". Dr. Matt Frost
from the Plymouth Marine Lab warned that "we are putting oceans under more
stress than we have done at any point in history".

Curry points out that current warming in the North Atlantic "is comparable to
changes over consecutive three-month periods during the winter/spring seasons
of 1983, 1987, 1989 and 2010". The high this time around was boosted from a
relatively warm initial start. Each of these past warmings was followed by
cooling of an approximately equal magnitude within the next 6-24 months,
resulting in relatively small net changes in sea surface temperatures and upper
ocean heat content.

Current North Atlantic sea temperature anomalies occurred in an "arc" pattern
and this is a signature of natural variability. Two more extreme natural
variations are also identified by Curry. Around 1970, there was strong warming
followed by a large sea surface temperature drop in 1971 that marked the
beginning of lengthy period of cool conditions and weak hurricane activity.
During 1994-95, the Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation shifted to a warm phase
and this sea current boosted surface temperatures around the arc at the time.
This introduced a period of warmer conditions that "in some respects" remains
to the present day.

As the Daily Sceptic has noted, the recent spate of climatic anomalies has
provided climate hysterics with a field day. None more so than those commenting
on Antarctica where Curry confirms there was low surface sea ice during the
current winter. Clive Cookson of the Financial Times jumped to the conclusion
that the continent "faces a catastrophic cascade of extreme environmental
events... that will affect climate around the world". Curry points out that in
2023, a different wind pattern has been in play, bringing strong winds from the
north that are breaking up and compressing the sea ice against the continent.

Meanwhile, Curry notes that Arctic sea ice is healthy - the extent for July was
only the 12th lowest in the satellite record. Last month's Greenland mass ice
sheet balance - annual snow accumulation minus melt - was above average
relative to 1980-2010.

There are many reasons why the work of climate scientists such as Judith Curry
never get picked up in the mainstream media. Much of what she describes is
natural variation and has been observed before in the climatic record. But the
Net Zero political project demands a simple message from scientists - it's all
down to human-caused CO2. As I have noted before, this closes off vast areas of
science for investigation or debate for fear of opening a Pandora's Box.

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Record Cold Myanmar

Pakistan's Frigid 2023

Australia's Snow Warnings

U.S. Burn Acreage Fourth-Lowest on Record (Since 1926)

UT And CO Still Have Snow


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German Mountains See 4-Inches of Summer Snow

Cold Julys From Fiji To The UK

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U.S. Ski Industry Reports Record-Breaking 65.4 Million Skier Visits Last Season

Cold Ireland

Cool U.S.

"Unusual" Temperature Drop Recorded Across Pacific Islands

Record-Cold Sweeps Europe As "Intense Snow" Continues To Pound Italy And Spain

Almanac Predicts Cold, Snowy Winter For U.S.

New August Low For Rapa Island

Europe's Colder-Than-Average (And Snowy) July

UK's Historically Cold Summer Drags On

Greenland Ice Sheet Uptick

Sierra Snow pack 1000% of Normal

Svalbard Polar Bears Enjoy Above Average Ice