Tibet temperatures hit record high in 2009:
Temperatures in Tibet rose last year to the highest level since records began for the remote Himalayan region, which scientists say is particularly vulnerable to global warming, state media reported on Friday.
The average temperature in Tibet in 2009 was 5.9 degrees Celsius (42.6 degrees Fahrenheit), 1.5 degrees higher than “normal,” the official China Daily newspaper reported, citing latest figures from the regional climate center. It did not detail how the “normal” level was set.
“Average temperatures recorded at 29 observatories reached record highs,” Zhang Hezhen, a specialist at the regional weather bureau was quoted saying, adding temperature rises occurred in both summer and winter.
Temperature records for Tibet started in 1961, the paper said.
Tibet, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters, is particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change, scientists say. Warming is already melting glaciers that feed rivers providing hundreds of millions of people with water.
The area acts as a “magnifier” for global warming, Zheng Guoguang, head of China Meteorological Administration, said at a meeting in Lhasa last spring.
“The impact of global warming has accelerated glacial shrinkage and the melting glaciers have swollen Tibet’s lakes… If the warming continues, millions of people in western China would face floods in the short term and drought in the long run.”
Having fun preparing for the vancouver ‘winter’ olympics here with near record feb temps…
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100203/bc_cypress_helicopter_090203/20100204?hub=BritishColumbia
We’re on track today at my location in NW Oregon to surpass our current record of 61 F set in 1961. It’s just past noon, the sun is out and we just popped 58 F (data courtesy Weather Underground). Any bets?
The past month was the warmest Oregon January in my memory.
Weather certainly can be weird. My wife and I were watching the weather channel earlier this evening as they talked about some areas near Washington DC getting over two feet(!!!) of snow. Up here in Rochester, right on one of the Great Lakes (as in prime real estate for lake effect snow), we’re getting nothing. Go figure.
For sure, Lou. And of course, there’s the difference between weather and climate. Funny thing is, a few years ago I’d have barely noticed this warm day (which, by the way, broke the 1961 record by 2 degrees). What I’ve noticed in the past decade is the number of broken record lows versus highs. My Dad was reminiscing recently about snow drifts in Wyoming so deep, kids would climb to the roofs of houses. He’s 80 now, having lived in the same town his entire life. He’s not seen a drift over 2 feet deep since the 80s and the roof-climber monsters haven’t made an appearance since the 50s. It worries me that kids today will come to see this accelerating decadal temperature rise as normal.