The BBC reports:
The Earth experienced unprecedented recorded climate extremes during the decade 2001-2010, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.
Its new report says more national temperature records were reported broken than in previous decades.
There was an increase in deaths from heatwaves over that decade.
This was particularly pronounced during the extreme summers in Europe in 2003 and in the Russian Federation during 2010…
Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), told BBC News that the issue hinged on the time frame.
“For longer periods (two decades or longer) we found a robust and a statistically significant warming trend,” he said. For shorter periods – a decade or less – there is no longer a significant temperature trend of either sign, consistent with the reports of a recent ‘plateauing’ of global temperatures.”
I live in the SouthWest United States, high desert. Last week I slept without any blankets, not even a sheet, because the night-time temperature was about 85 degrees F all night long. Last few days our temperature has plummeted to about 55 degrees F at night, and I used a comforter and two blankets last night, and was very cold for about a half-hour after going to bed. And that is not weather extremes, that is just normal for this region.
I.e., weather has extremes; climate doesn’t.
If it’s extreme, it ain’t climate.
Climate: A region’s usual weather patterns.
“Climate extremes” is an oxymoron.
Whenever you see the word “unprecedented”, you know you are being sold a bill of goods. Or that the person using the term has no idea (or does not care) what it means.
I’ve seen TV reporters say, with a straight face, that “this is unprecedented–it hasn’t happened for several years”.
Unbelievable.
Do these college graduates realize that the earth is 4.5 billion years old. 1000 years of data is only .00002% of the earth’s life!
If you get to set the definition of “extreme”, then you get to determine how many “extreme” events there are.
Statistically speaking, extreme can be defined as 2.5 sigma off the average — at least that’s what my sainted stats teacher told me some 30 years ago. You could also use an objective measure of harm done by a weather event, I guess, if anyone had an objective measure of harm.
“Its new report says more national temperature records were reported broken than in previous decades.” – a textbook example of Reporting Bias. There are more measurements being made now than in previous decades.
“There was an increase in deaths from heatwaves over that decade.” exemplifies Omitted Variable Bias with the omitted variable being population growth – roughly 25% from 1990 to 2008.
“during the extreme summers in Europe in 2003 and in the Russian Federation during 2010” betrays how transient and local the ‘climate extremes’ really are, a classic case of Selection Bias.
above average = extreme?
In the urban heat waves — heat waves have almost nothing to do with climate, as I was astonished to learn at WUWT — the major cause of deaths was that elderly people couldn’t afford to run their air-conditioning because electric rates were so high and their pensions were small. Both of those elements have large effects from government policies.
In each and every case cited, there was ample explanation and attribution without involving global warming at the times they occurred. They should rename themselves as the Second Bite at the Apple Organization.