Category Archives: Climate

How does this summer dew point temperature compare with previous years?

The dew point temperature is the temperature to which the air must be cooled, at constant pressure, to get dew to form. As the grass and other objects near the ground cool and reach the dew point temperature, some of the water vapor in the atmosphere will condense into liquid water on the objects. While the dew point temperature is a temperature, it is also a measure of the humidity of the air. The higher the dew point temperature, the greater the amount of water vapor in the air.

To know how close the air is to saturation, we need to know the dew point and the air temperature. The closer the dew point is to the air temperature, the closer the air is to saturation. When the dew point equals the air temperature, the air is saturated, so the dew point temperature cannot be greater than the air temperature. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Meteorology, Seasons

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Does the Dept. of Energy’s latest climate report ring true?

The Trump Administration continues to double down on its naked denialism of the nature of, and threat posed by, human-induced changes to the global climate. 

Late last month the Department of Energy released a 151-page report entitled “A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate.”  This report was commissioned this spring and work on it was conducted from early April until late May with a May 28 deadline to deliver a draft.  It was authored by 5 scientists who share a deep skepticism regarding the broad scientific consensus that industrialization has played a leading role in altering the chemical composition of our atmosphere in such a way as to encourage global warming, ocean acidification, increased wildfire threat and an increased risk of high impact weather systems in all seasons. Continue reading

Category: Climate, History

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How is rainfall intensity changing?

NOAA maintains observations of temperature and precipitation extremes in the U.S. The data indicate that cold extremes in the U.S. have become less frequent. Since the 1930s, there have been many more record-high temperatures compared to record-low temperatures. With warmer … Continue reading

Category: Climate, History, Meteorology

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Who conducts the National Climate Assessment?

The U.S. National Climate Assessment is mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The assessment has been conducted about every four years since 2000 and is an authoritative scientific analysis of climate change risks, impacts, and responses in the U.S. The resulting report, mandated by Congress, explains how climate change affects every region of the U.S.

The nation completed its fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) in November 2023. The assessment results from an extensive process that includes internal and external review from federal agencies, the public, and external peer review by a panel of experts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the administrative agency for NCA5 and certifies that the report meets the standards required by the Information Quality Act and Evidence Act. Continue reading

Category: Climate, History

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Has the EPA rolled back regulations on greenhouse gas emissions?

On June 11, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin proposed repealing all “greenhouse gas” (their quotes, not ours) emission standards for the power sector under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

This proposal is based upon the false assertion that “emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution.” This assertion flies in the face of centuries of evolving understanding of the influence that carbon dioxide, the primary by-product of such combustion, has on the radiation balance of Earth’s atmosphere. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Meteorology

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