April 26th, 2012 by Warwick Hughes
13.6 degrees C on 25 April 2012 – 1952 was 13.3, 1939 – 13.2 and 1944 – 11.6.
And this is in the face of constant growth of the Canberra urban heat island (UHI). No doubt this is what we can expect from global warming. Camooweal in NW Queensland is also having chilly times – is anybody aware of other record cold sites ?

Just saw this scenic shot in the Canberra Times – high alpine ridges near Perisher on ANZAC Day – another good pic in the article.
Posted in News and Views, Urban Heat Islands | 6 Comments »
April 26th, 2012 by Warwick Hughes
Reader Peter Lang kindly sent me these interesting links.
Here are links to three sites on past climate and one with plate tectonics animation:
1 Paleomap by Scotese:
Schematic chart of average global surface temperatures for the past 600 million years (since multicell animal life began)
Points to note:
The planet is in a ‘cold-house’ phase
There have been only three ‘cold-house’ phases since animal life began. We are in the third one now.
The planet’s normal temperature is about 8 C warmer than present
Life thrives when the planet is warmer, struggles when colder
Life loves warming, hates cooling
Warm is better for life. More food.
We acknowledge there are costs of change, but overall, warmer is better for life.

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Posted in Climate indicators, Cryosphere | 2 Comments »