There has been no significant warming in the United States since at least 2005.
Any claimed recent warming and impacts at specific places in the United States are isolated and indicative of random variation rather than long-term warming trend.
The United States has experienced no significant warming since at least 2005. The lack of warming is documented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s U.S. Climate Reference Network, an extremely accurate network of temperature stations located throughout the United States. Unlike other temperature data, Climate Reference Network data does not require corrective adjustments to account for environmental factors that alter the accuracy of recorded temperatures.
Figure 1 illustrates there has been no significant increase in the number of temperature anomalies since the start of 2005.1,2 Thus, when climate activists have claimed in recent years that warming has caused various U.S. environmental problems, it’s not possible their assessments are accurate, unless it can be shown the U.S. Climate Reference Network data is wrong, and as far as we’re aware, no credible scientific agency has attempted to make that claim.
Figure 1. Contiguous U.S. Average Temperature Anomalies
Figure 1. Average surface temperature anomalies in the United States, January 2005 to February 2022. Source: U.S. Climate Reference Network, “Average Surface Temperature, January 2005 to February 2022,” ncdc.noaa.gov, National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Further, long-term warming in the United States has been modest, at worst. Thermometer readings report current temperatures are no higher today than they were 80 years ago, a reality that has been masked in large part by government agencies that have chosen to adjust temperatures from past decades downward, making it appear as though recent temperatures are comparably much higher than the unadjusted data suggest. (See Figure 2.)
Figure 2. USHN Monthly Measured vs. Adjusted Temperatures
Figure 2: (click to enlarge)U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) data. The blue line represents unadjusted thermometer readings, which show temperatures are no higher now than they were 80 years ago. Source: Tony Heller, “61% Of NOAA USHCN Adjusted Temperature Data Is Now Fake,” realclimatescience.com, February 11, 2019: https://realclimatescience.com/2019/02/61-of-noaa-ushcn-adjusted-temperature-data-is-now-fake
Another factor that has distorted temperature data is the poor placement of temperature stations that are not part of the Climate Reference Network. Many stations’ data have been affected by urbanization, resulting in temperature inaccuracies.3, 4, 5
The raw, unadjusted data, shown in Figure 2, clearly illustrates recent temperatures are likely the same or nearly the same as they were in the 1930s, and perhaps even lower.6
References:
U.S. Climate Reference Network, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information, accessed August 17, 2021, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/crn
There has been no significant warming in the United States since at least 2005.
Any claimed recent warming and impacts at specific places in the United States are isolated and indicative of random variation rather than long-term warming trend.
The United States has experienced no significant warming since at least 2005. The lack of warming is documented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s U.S. Climate Reference Network, an extremely accurate network of temperature stations located throughout the United States. Unlike other temperature data, Climate Reference Network data does not require corrective adjustments to account for environmental factors that alter the accuracy of recorded temperatures.
Figure 1 illustrates there has been no significant increase in the number of temperature anomalies since the start of 2005.1,2 Thus, when climate activists have claimed in recent years that warming has caused various U.S. environmental problems, it’s not possible their assessments are accurate, unless it can be shown the U.S. Climate Reference Network data is wrong, and as far as we’re aware, no credible scientific agency has attempted to make that claim.
Figure 1. Contiguous U.S. Average Temperature Anomalies
Figure 1. Average surface temperature anomalies in the United States, January 2005 to February 2022. Source: U.S. Climate Reference Network, “Average Surface Temperature, January 2005 to February 2022,” ncdc.noaa.gov, National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Further, long-term warming in the United States has been modest, at worst. Thermometer readings report current temperatures are no higher today than they were 80 years ago, a reality that has been masked in large part by government agencies that have chosen to adjust temperatures from past decades downward, making it appear as though recent temperatures are comparably much higher than the unadjusted data suggest. (See Figure 2.)
Figure 2. USHN Monthly Measured vs. Adjusted Temperatures
Figure 2: (click to enlarge)U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) data. The blue line represents unadjusted thermometer readings, which show temperatures are no higher now than they were 80 years ago. Source: Tony Heller, “61% Of NOAA USHCN Adjusted Temperature Data Is Now Fake,” realclimatescience.com, February 11, 2019: https://realclimatescience.com/2019/02/61-of-noaa-ushcn-adjusted-temperature-data-is-now-fake
Another factor that has distorted temperature data is the poor placement of temperature stations that are not part of the Climate Reference Network. Many stations’ data have been affected by urbanization, resulting in temperature inaccuracies.3, 4, 5
The raw, unadjusted data, shown in Figure 2, clearly illustrates recent temperatures are likely the same or nearly the same as they were in the 1930s, and perhaps even lower.6
References:
U.S. Climate Reference Network, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information, accessed August 17, 2021, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/crn
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