press democratThe Record newspaper in Santa Rosa, Calif., published an op-ed in its Sunday, Aug. 18 edition titled, “Golis: For climate change deniers, the heat is on.”
In addition to being reprehensible about climate change skeptics, this article is completely wrong in many ways. Author Peter Golis made the classic mistake of conflating short-term weather timescales with long-term climate timescales and then incorrectly citing this as evidence of long-term climate change.
Here are some of the claims Golis makes in the article:
July is the hottest month on record in California.
We're not surprised. In July, the high temperatures in the 80s gradually ease, and the morning fog typical of summer disappears.
“July is hot not only because of its intensity…but also because of its duration,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote on his Weather West blog.
He added: “Temperatures have remained extremely high for several weeks and have not cooled significantly at night…”
The article went on to mention several temperature records in California cities:
Ukiah recorded a high temperature of 117 degrees, breaking the century mark, and temperatures over 100 degrees are common.
Palm Springs is no stranger to hot weather, recording its hottest day ever at 124 degrees. Heartbreaking new record. There were 24 days in July where the temperature exceeded 120 degrees, including a high of 129 degrees on July 7.
As a result, some new high temperature records were set in California, a traditionally hot place. In the context of climate change, this is not news.
It's worth noting that we only have about 150 years of accurate temperature records in California. We don't know what the highest July temperature was in California 200 years ago or more. Not surprisingly, new records emerge in the short-term data that we compare to California's long-term geological presence.
In fact, California's official temperature records began in 1877 in Sacramento, and while the summer of 2024 saw many hot days, the overall numbers did not exceed historical measurements, according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento, as you can see in the chart below: They The analysis is as follows:
All this hand-waving by Golis turns out to have nothing to do with climate change.
The effects of climate change are long-lasting, lasting 30 years or more, while the effects of weather are shorter-lasting, ranging from hours to days and sometimes lasting weeks. That's what we have here. A high-pressure hot dome pattern centered in California is causing temperatures to rise and, because of its slow movement, contributes to persistent high temperatures. It's a weather pattern and nothing more.
Just days after Golis claimed climate change was to blame for California's hottest month on record, weather patterns have changed, with much of the state now experiencing below-normal temperatures and increased chances of rainfall, as shown in the chart below:
Compare the following NOAA maps from July to August. Note how California went from “above normal” to “below normal.”
Apparently, a shift in weather patterns occurs between July and August. This is not “climate change”, just normal weather.
Golis had no idea what he was talking about. He made that clear because the rest of the article he wrote was mostly a political rant against the Republican Party and its energy policies. He believes these policies are the root cause of hot weather and everything but the kitchen sink:
Death and destruction from heat and fires, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, torrential rains, the frequency of horrific storms – scientists say climate change will be defined by extreme weather that is more destructive than before.
Luckily, Mother Nature changed weather patterns to make it cooler than normal, and Golis ended up looking like a fool. Unfortunately, editors and fact-checkers press democrat The Sunday when Golis’ climate rant was published, I didn’t bother looking at the cooling weather. In their presence, this column might have been more balanced and informed.
Anthony Watts
Anthony Watts is a senior fellow in environment and climate at the Heartland Institute. Since 1978, Watts has been in the weather business both in front of and behind the camera as a live television meteorologist and currently oversees daily broadcast forecasts. He created television weather graphics presentation systems, professional weather instruments, and co-authored peer-reviewed papers on climate issues. He runs the world's most viewed climate website, the award-winning wattsupwiththat.com.
Originally published in ClimateREALISM
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