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Why Were 2023 and 2024 So Hot?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Scientists are sounding the alarm because this warming is shockingly bigbigger than what we would have expected given the long-term warming trend from fossil fuel-caused climate change. Albedo is the total reflection of incoming solar radiation by Earth. But why were 2023 and 2024 so warm? What is albedo?

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What Is a Climate Model and How Does It Work?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Climate models are the main tool climate scientists use to predict how Earth will respond to more heat-trapping pollutants in the atmosphere. Just by looking at the name, you can see that a GCM is a model that simulates the circulation of Earths different physical systems like the atmosphere and ocean. What causes a circulation?

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How Do ‘Future Climate Scenarios’ Shape Climate Science and Inform Policy? 

Union of Concerned Scientists

Four RCP scenarios describe different levels of radiative forcing in the atmosphere by 2100. Radiative forcing is the change in energy balance in the Earths atmosphere due to heat trapping emissions. SSP5: Taking the highway A scenario driven by economic growth and high fossil fuel use, leading to rapid warming.

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The CO2 problem in six easy steps (2022 Update)

Real Climate

The fact that there is a natural greenhouse effect (that the atmosphere restricts the passage of infra-red (IR) radiation from the Earth’s surface to space) is easily deducible from; i) the mean temperature of the surface (around 15ºC) and, ii) knowing that the planet is normally close to radiative equilibrium.

Radiation 352
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The definitive CO2/CH4 comparison post

Real Climate

But methane’s role in atmospheric chemistry and as a source of stratospheric water vapour means that it has a bigger effect on climate than just the direct effect of its concentration. There is also a very small impact of the CH 4 oxidation to CO 2 itself for any fossil-fuel derived methane. (a) W/m 2 for CH 4. Etminan, G.

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A distraction due to errors, misunderstanding and misguided Norwegian statistics

Real Climate

are used all over the world, based on calculations that quantify the effects of physical mechanisms and the way different parts of the atmosphere are connected to each other. The physics-based models describe how energy flows through the atmosphere and ocean, as well as how the forces from different air masses push against each other.

Sea Level 326
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How fast can we stop Earth from warming?

Environmental News Bits

If people everywhere stopped burning fossil fuels tomorrow, stored heat would still continue to warm the atmosphere. Picture how a radiator heats a home. Water is heated by a boiler, and the hot water circulates through pipes and radiators in … Continue reading How fast can we stop Earth from warming?

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