EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS GLOBAL WARMING

             From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

        DAY  USA  WORLD   Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9    1093     4732         1185       246       82

July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120     572

Aug    12     1504     6556        1242        835     130

Sept     9     1208      6222       1136       1168       82

Oct     21     1225      6849         571        703       85

Nov    25      2304    12025        620        518      118

Dec    30      3880    14748       1224       299      465

Jan     14       4142    15512         1151        189       712              

Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398

          25       2414    10578        1582        119      144

Mar     2        1989      9490       1726       110      194

          31       1115      12301        3950       458       58

April   6         906     11787         4211        631       37

May    4         853     13667         3025     3786      59 

         26         607     12348         2399     3842     101

June    1         287     10637        2346      3205      95

          30        249      8505        2127        991      383

July     7          251      8440         1595        817      411

         28          483    10136          1366       641      520 

Aug     3          516    10057         1238        561      555

            4          656    10120        1118         532      423

          10          657    10078        1183         468      189 

          11         1055    10574         985          511      384

         11           614    10352         1123          519      573  

         18         1055   10574          985         511       384

          24        1134    10462         885         787      369

Summary:  

• Pretty much as expected.
• The U.S. had 147,619 new cases yesterday, which omens at least 1500 new deaths in ten days to two weeks.
• Very bad for much of the Orient, except China.

To start the topic of the day, from NASA:

Every 100,000 years the carbon dioxide level of Planet Earth has had a full cycle of influencing the accompanying ice age to some warm peak.   However, never has the CO2 concentration reached the current high ever of 419 ppm since humans arrived.  The difference this time is the influence of us.

Going back to when the carbon dioxide level was so high, megatoothed sharks prowled the oceans and the world seas were up to 100 feet higher than today.  The global average surface temperature was up to 11 F warmer than today.

Confirming evidence of the above comes from a combination of tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs and layers of sedimentary rocks.  The carbon dioxide concentration is now increasing at 250 times faster than the last Ice Age.

Our planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.12 F since the late 19th century.  Most of this warming occurred in the past 40 years, with the seven most recent years being the warmest.  2020 tied 2016 as the warmest year on record.

Where is this extra heat going?  The ocean has absorbed 90% of this energy, with a warming of 0.6 degrees in the top 328 feet from the surface since 1969.

In addition to this warming, which expands water and adds to sea level rise, Greenland has lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice/year between 1994 and 2019.  Antarctica, about 148 billion tons of ice per year in this same period.  The result is that the sea level rose 8 inches in the past century.  However, this increase is accelerating slightly each year.

Since 1950, the number of record high temperature events in the U.S. has been increasing, while the number of record low temperatures decreasing.  Intense rainfall events are also increasing.  Notice the recent incidence of landslides and serious floods?  Heavy rains over Arizona to the left:

Since the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) the acidity of the ocean surface has increased by more than 39%.  This has resulted in a reduction of calcification rates for reef-building.

It is appearing that we are responsible for more than 100% of the increased global warming.  Huh, more than 100%?  Yes, because volcanoes and solar activity would well have led to a slight cooling over the past half a century.   Plus, it turns out that the combustion of fossil fuels produces sulphur dioxide that form atmospheric aerosols that reflect solar radiation back into space.  This is complicated, but more ozone can also cool the Earth, and various chemical reactions in the atmosphere associated with man-made chlorofluorocarbons and other halocarbons also serve a cooling factor.  However, we produced so much carbon dioxide (and methane???) to more than overcome these positive effects.

Photos show glacier retreating and disappearing.  This decrease in snow cover also means more of the sunlight will be absorbed in the ground than reflected back into space.  Here is Glacial National Park:

Wildfires in the West Coast and Greece have recently made headlines.  Just examples of almost too many to count.  Here is a Wikipedia summary.  You say Russia should benefit by warming?  Well, the wildfires in Siberia alone are larger than all other fires ongoing across the whole world combined!!!  Smoke has reached the North Pole.  In many of these Russian areas peat worsens the effect.  Here is a photo of these wildfires last year:

Climate change is disrupting weather patterns causing droughts.  According to this UNICEF article, 74% of natural disasters between 2001 and 2018 were water-related, from floods to droughts.  450 million children do not have enough water to meet daily needs.  Of course you read of rationing Colorado River water.  China uses river water control as a political weapon, but is also its Achilles Heel.  Read this feature.

Enough is enough, I'll stop with just one more photo, the record water level drop in Lake Mead:

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