We have been following reports on climate change that appear to support the view that major changes are occurring around the world. This week, NASA released figures showing that, after setting records in 2015, January was was the warmest on record. In another story, Australian wine producers are faced with changing grapes due to the sharp change in climate in that country. As someone who loves Australian reds, the news hits particularly hard and captures the range of subtle and substantial changes that will have to be made in light of the worsening situation.
This follows findings of the warmest December on record.
January was not just the warmest but the most anomalously warm month in 135 years of record keeping. There have now been four months with such high temperatures. According to NASA, temperatures in some parts of the Arctic averaged up to 23°F above normal for the month. A new low in ice formation was also set in January with sea ice extent was 402,000 square miles below average.
Here is the report: Climate Change Report