Research Links Heavy Rains and Snow to Humans

Research Links Heavy Rains and Snow to Humans

NYT (Please visit link for full article.)

An increase in heavy precipitation that has afflicted many countries is at least partly a consequence of human influence on the atmosphere, climate scientists reported in a new study.

In the first major paper of its kind, the researchers used elaborate computer programs that simulate the climate to analyze whether the rise in severe rainstorms, heavy snowfalls and similar events could be explained by natural variability in the atmosphere. They found that it could not, and that the increase made sense only when the computers factored in the effects of greenhouse gases released by human activities like the burning of fossil fuels.

Here we go again with blaming humans for the kind of weather were experiencing this year. If its not global warming, its global cooling. Human impact on the environment has been heavily debated time and time again on these boards & elsewhere, but when are these scientists going to get something right? we were supposed to experience warmer winters, and extreme summers but we have not seen that. Yes there have been epic flooding, and epic snowfall this season but are humans to blame or is the earth just going through a natural cycle? Although it has only been one season scientists are ready to jump the gun again and play the blame game.

That it took a decade to come to that conclusion illustrates one of the major problems of climate science at the moment. Researchers are barraged with questions about weather extremes like the recent winters in Europe and the United States and the heat waves and droughts of last summer.

Yet, even when adequate weather statistics are available for an affected region, the scientists need years to run computer analyses of any specific event and calculate whether it was made more or less likely by global warming.

Well at least one thing is certain here. Scientists are learning quick that mother nature is dynamic and is unpredictable but yet are ready and willing to blame humans and their carbon footprint. At least they are admitting that they dont have enough information to come to any definite conclusions. although it may be linked, its just an idea, a hypothesis. more data is needed but none the less interested to see any or more results on these studies.

Discuss!

Have we also caused all the ice ages since the Younger Dryads?

I think that the squirrel we are descended from extincted the dinos too.

reply to post by Aeons


what they are saying is that they dont know, but are willing to blame, you and me, and the squirrels for all this extreme weather. In other words, they dont have a clue!

Maybe, just maybe, and I am throwing a non sarcastic out of the box idea here.

Maybe its just a natural cycle. If there was ice ages in the past, and rain forests at the poles, then it is safe to say that its natural for these kind of fluctuations.

Well I don't know about the absence of global warming or cooling - but Australia has experienced the worst floods/cyclone in a century or thereabouts, smack bang in the middle of what should be a bone dry, 40 degree celcius summer.