Despite a considerable amount of hot air produced by politicians at Copenhagen recently, and the additional pollution created by the vehicles used to take them to and from the meetings, it does not seem to have had any extra effect on the climate.
Whilst the planet did appear to go through a hot spell a few years ago, there seems to be sufficient evidence at the moment to suggest that things have changed?
Maybe those involved in promoting the financial benefits of Global Warming don’t really care what the weather is doing, and those that believe the planet is still getting hot, live in country where it doesn’t snow and they have no TV or internet connection?
For the remainder of us who live in the real world and watch the news, Global Warming is a subject that belongs to a past threat and should be shelved (at least for the moment).
For people who are still convinced it is getting hotter, they may be interested to know that winter storms in northeastern US have produced the highest snowfalls since 1969.
Beijing in China has experienced record low temperatures and the largest snowfall on the capital since 1951. Temperatures are expected to fall to minus 16 (a 40 year low). One official in China blames Global Warming for these unusual conditions!
Even Seoul has seen the heaviest snow for more than 70 years.
Britain is at present experiencing the worst winter conditions in decades, and if the snowfall predicted for the next 24-48 hours is correct, this will be the highest level since 1962-63.
Some of the countries, who have managed to escape the snow, have been hit with flooding. These include Brazil, Italy and Australia.
Many have blamed the cold spell on wintry conditions originating in Siberia. This does happen of course, as Siberia is an extremely cold place at this time of the year (I spent 3 months there once and it was minus 30 in October!). But it is unusual for the cold to travel in such a wide area (especially as far as Seoul).
What could of course be happening is that the climatic regions on the planet are moving? This has happened before and many of the areas that are deserts now, used to contain forests and water.
The Sun may also be playing an important part (certainly more than the methane produced by cows!) and the lack of sunspots recently has been connected to the cooling. Historic records show that cold periods on the planet have occurred at the same time as a lack of sunspots.
For those who are not keen on seeing an ice-age, there may be some good news? Recent reports reveal that sunspot activity is returning to the Sun. But whether this means that Al Gore can make a comeback, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, it may be safer to trust our own eyes when discussing the climate. When these wintry conditions become less severe, or vanish completely, that is the time to really start worrying. But for the moment, try and keep warm and turn off the TV when Al Gore appears.
