Refrigeration gases had a substantial effect on Arctic warming and overall climate change in the second half of the last century (Earth Institute at Columbia University). This remarkable research is important because it changes the way we look at the way global temperatures rose during that period, especially so during the years following 1970, which is about the beginning point of the strong upward linear trend we see on all familiar charts. “A study published today in Nature Climate Change by researchers at Columbia University examines the greenhouse warming effects of ozone-depleting substances and finds that they caused about a third of all global warming from 1955 to 2005, and half of Arctic warming and sea ice loss during that period. They thus acted as a strong supplement to carbon dioxide, the most pervasive greenhouse gas; their effects have since started to fade, as they are no longer produced and slowly dissolve.” The study contains a chart showing the impact of ozone-depleting gases, which mostly ended by 1995. Without that growth, temperatures would have risen more slowly, and even today, again without that growth, temperatures would not be quite as high as what we are getting, nor would the Arctic have warmed or melted as much as we see. Without the Montreal Protocol taking effect we would really be in a horrible mess right now.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/eiac-osc011720.php
Link to the Abstract of the article, which is worth reading and has availability to the chart I mentioned as a Figure. Nature Climate Change is a highly-rated journal.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0677-4
What some new models are saying about future temperature increases (Phys.org). “New climate models show carbon dioxide is a more potent greenhouse gas than previously understood, a finding that could push the Paris treaty goals for capping global warming out of reach, scientists have told AFP.” (AFP is a French news agency.) This story has a good explanation of the effect that clouds have on models of the future, which is still uncertain but clearly something to worry about according to the latest models.
https://phys.org/news/2020-01-climate-paris-goals.html
–Before long we may get more definitive knowledge about the way cloud cover evolves in a highly sensitivity region (University of Leeds). As for the importance, “Currently, calculations of future global warming disagree by several degrees. The largest cause of disagreements between predictions is the challenge of accurately representing the mechanics of clouds in our climate systems.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-01-cloudy-climate.html
How much should we depend on geoengineering to solve the climate problem (Wits University – Johannesburg). An expert provides a brief survey of a variety of projects and proposals, with no outstanding revelations to speak of.
https://phys.org/news/2020-01-expert-discusses-prospects-climate.html?
How the world warmed in 2019 (Carbon Brief). This post has an extensive analysis with many charts. There is one particular chart, seldom seen, that I want to draw your attention to, separating the record of land, ocean and global temperatures back to 1880. It is interactive, with data from NASA GISTEMP, and uses the equivalent of a pre-industrial baseline. Through 2019, land average comes in at plus-1.89C, the oceans at 0.81C and global 1.19C. The global average is weighted by 70% on the side of oceans, and oceans are low because they swallow so much of the energy they absorb at the surface and mix it with the deeper waters below, something that cannot be accomplished by the continents. You will need to scroll down quite a ways to find the chart.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/state-of-the-climate-how-the-world-warmed-in-2019
Carl