The Start of Autumn
The 1st of September is recognised, according to the meteorological calendar,as the start of Autumn. With the Summer months in the UK now officially behind us and the nights starting to draw in again, do you think there have been a change in the seasons over the past years or decades?
Summer months seem to be passing in a blur of overcast days scattered with just a handful of sunny moments and seasons seem to be merging into one another. Has it always been like this? Or is this change a side effect of a much larger problem; global warming?
According to an annual climate report the combined land and ocean temperature has increased at anaverage rate of 0.08 degrees Celsius per decade since 1880; however, the average rate of increase since 1981 has been more than twice that rate! Since 1880 the overall global temperature has increased by only 1 degree Celsius, which doesn’t sound all that scary, but two thirds of that increase has happened since 1975. It is a worrying consideration that even if we were to stop all emissions today, we would not prevent some changes. However it is also a known fact that, the sooner we cut emissions, the smaller the changes will be.
So, do we think that we are already seeing the effects of global warming here in the UK? Or does it still seem to be an issue showingits affects only in the most extreme climates? Places such as the Arctic have been affected hugely, with the ice there now 65% thinner than it was in 1975. The arctic sea the smallest that it has been in the last 1000 years. Meaning that if emissions are not reduced considerably, and quickly, we could see ice free summers in the Arctic by the middle of this century! There seems to have been a recent increase in interest in the issue, with many programs and documentaries popping up surrounding the global warming topic. Extinction rebellion being featured in the news more than ever. And recycling in UK households increasing byalmost 10% over the last decade.
Do we think we are doing enough to combat the issue here in the UK and are we already feeling the repercussions?
Summer months seem to be passing in a blur of overcast days scattered with just a handful of sunny moments and seasons seem to be merging into one another. Has it always been like this? Or is this change a side effect of a much larger problem; global warming?
According to an annual climate report the combined land and ocean temperature has increased at anaverage rate of 0.08 degrees Celsius per decade since 1880; however, the average rate of increase since 1981 has been more than twice that rate! Since 1880 the overall global temperature has increased by only 1 degree Celsius, which doesn’t sound all that scary, but two thirds of that increase has happened since 1975. It is a worrying consideration that even if we were to stop all emissions today, we would not prevent some changes. However it is also a known fact that, the sooner we cut emissions, the smaller the changes will be.
So, do we think that we are already seeing the effects of global warming here in the UK? Or does it still seem to be an issue showingits affects only in the most extreme climates? Places such as the Arctic have been affected hugely, with the ice there now 65% thinner than it was in 1975. The arctic sea the smallest that it has been in the last 1000 years. Meaning that if emissions are not reduced considerably, and quickly, we could see ice free summers in the Arctic by the middle of this century! There seems to have been a recent increase in interest in the issue, with many programs and documentaries popping up surrounding the global warming topic. Extinction rebellion being featured in the news more than ever. And recycling in UK households increasing byalmost 10% over the last decade.
Do we think we are doing enough to combat the issue here in the UK and are we already feeling the repercussions?
