Hot weather

THE five hottest global years in the (1880-2016) record were 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010 and 2013, so essentially the five hottest years occurred in the past six years.

2016 witnessed the largest coral bleaching event ever on the Great Barrier Reef where 60% of corals in the northern part of the reef died.

In August 2017 Hurricane Harvey was the wettest storm ever to hit the US mainland, then Irma was the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic. The combined damage bill could hit an all-time record of $480 billion. A beautiful piece of mathematics relating to atmospheric thermodynamics called the Clausius-Claperyron equation indicates an increase of roughly 7% more atmospheric moisture for every degree C our sea surface temperature warms.

Earth officially has warmed one degree C since the industrial revolution when sea levels were rising one 10th of a millimetre annually. Today they are rising 30 times faster.

April 2017 saw atmospheric CO2 hit 410 ppm for the first time, a level 42% higher than the pre-industrial era and unseen for the past three million years. Methane and nitrous oxide emissions also hit record highs in 2017. My own prediction is that we will hit 450ppm and two degrees of warming by 2033 (just 16 years from now).

In July, 2017, the largest iceberg ever recorded broke free from the West Antarctic Peninsula. It was 5800 sq km in area and contained about a trillion cubic metres of ice. It was the same size as Bali.

Despite the past three years being the hottest, July 2017 was the globally hottest July in the 137 year record. Temperature records were smashed in Toowoomba in February and September this year even though we are no longer in a warm El Nino phase.

The Antarctic sea ice in March 2017 produced a record summer minimum of 2.1 million sq km. Just three years ago there was 3.5 million sq km in March. At the other end of the globe, the Arctic recorded its smallest summer maximum ever of 14.4 million sq km in March 2017.

I could list pages more but my point is that despite the evidence, Australian politicians continue to rhapsodise over coal and gas. Queensland continues to open coal mines and frack for more gas. The only way we can turn politicians toward climate action is to educate the general public to vote for those who support and understand the science. — GEOFF CASTLE, Toowoomba