May-August 2004 Warmest On Record In Alaska - ADN

[hatrack]

"For proof of climate change in the Arctic, look no further than Alaska's long, hot summer, according to one of the country's top climate scientists. Last year Alaskans sweated through the warmest May, June, July and August of the century, with average temperatures almost 5 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. Such heat was largely driven by the warmest ocean temperatures ever measured in the Northern Hemisphere, matched globally by the fourth-warmest year on record.

Large swaths of the state saw sparse rainfall as a result but still got zapped thousands of times by lightning. That led to Alaska's worst fire season ever, with an estimated 6.5 million acres burned. Throw in melting glaciers, disintegrating permafrost, diminishing sea ice, coastal erosion, changes in vegetation and wildlife, insect infestations, rising sea level, and increasing exposure to contaminants brought on air and sea currents, and Alaskans know firsthand about the potential damage and cost caused by the shifting climate.

"Climate is really warming now, and you Alaskans know that," said Robert Corell, chair of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment for the international Arctic Council. "Because this really is the bellwether, the canary in the mine: What we see over the next decade here and in the Arctic, the rest of the world will see in the next 25 years."

Corell, a senior fellow with the American Meteorological Society, brought his climate-change message to Anchorage earlier this month, giving speeches, meeting with editors and students and business leaders, and participating in panel discussions at the Alaska Forum on the Environment. His focus was an international study that outlined the devastating impact of warming climate and melting ice across the North. Commissioned by the Arctic Council, the study was the work of 300 scientists from 18 countries, with Corell serving as one of the lead coordinators. The public overview of the report, released in October, received international media coverage."

EDIT

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/6199775p-6074122c.html

[d_b]

1. hell yea

It was dreadfully hot last summer.