Record High And Low Temperatures Altering In Face Of Climate Change

The National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and non-profit Climate Central, funded a recent study regarding record high and low temperatures across the United States. The researchers involved came from Climate Central, The Weather Channel, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Their findings will be published in the Geophysical Research Letters publication.

The researchers gathered data for the last six decades of record keeping. The individual data points come from across the United States and from thousands of different weather stations. In the last decade, it was discovered that record high temperatures outnumbered record low temperatures 2:1.

291,237 record high temperatures were recorded between January 1, 2000 and September 30, 2009. In that same time frame, 142,420 record low temperatures were recorded. Thus far in 2009, the ratio has been 3:2. Record lows and highs are traditionally approximately equal.

It is unusual for climate experts to discuss daily weather in relation to climate change, however in this instance the researchers point to climate change clearly being represented in everyday weather. A researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research involved in the study, Gerald Meehl, stated: “Climate change is making itself felt in terms of day-to-day weather. The way these records are being broken show how our climate is already shifting.”

The researchers noted the decreasing record low temperatures, which normally occur at night. The decreasing record lows indicate that nights are warming, which is a predicted consequence of climate change.

If greenhouse gases continue increasing like they are presently, the number of record highs will also continue to rise. Record low temperatures will still exist, but will become fewer in number. By 2050, the ratio could be 20:1, and by 2100 the ratio could be 50:1.