Time of emergence of a warming signal

emergence, GCMs, IPCC AR5, projections, temperature, uncertainty

The ‘signal’ of a warming climate is emerging against a background ‘noise’ of natural internal variability. Both the magnitude of the signal and the noise vary spatially and seasonally. As society and ecosystems tend to be somewhat adapted to natural variability, some of the impacts of any change will be felt when the signal becomes large relative to the noise. So, it is important to note where and when this might occur. Continue reading Time of emergence of a warming signal →

Near-term global surface temperature projections in IPCC AR5

IPCC AR5, projections, temperature, uncertainty, variability

The final version of the IPCC AR5 WG1 assessment on the physical basis for climate change has now been published. The AR5 includes, for the first time, a specific chapter and assessment on ‘near-term’ climate change, which covers the period up to 2050, but with a specific focus on the 2016-2035 period.

Continue reading Near-term global surface temperature projections in IPCC AR5 →

Near-term regional climate: the range of possibilities

communication, GCMs, temperature, uncertainty, variability, visualisation

What are the possible regional temperature trends over the coming few decades? Globally, on average, there is expected to be a long-term warming, but this is not necessarily true for any particular location or period. What are the probabilities of a local warming or cooling? Continue reading Near-term regional climate: the range of possibilities →

Recent slowdown in global surface temperature rise

observations, temperature, uncertainty, variability, visualisation

The Science Media Centre recently held a briefing for journalists on the recent slowdown in global surface temperature rise, and published an accompanying briefing note. The Met Office also released three reports on the topic.

The key points were: (1) recent changes need to be put in longer term context & other climate indicators such as sea level, Arctic sea ice, snow cover, glacier melt etc are also important; (2) the explanation for recent slowdown is partly additional ocean heat uptake & partly negative trends in natural radiative forcing (due to solar changes and small volcanic eruptions) which slightly counteract the positive forcing from GHGs; (3) the quantification of the relative magnitude of these causes is still work in progress; (4) climate models simulate similar pauses. Continue reading Recent slowdown in global surface temperature rise →