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Spring has come early: February likely warmest on record amid climate change

26 Comments
By Jake Spring

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26 Comments
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Lovely weather we’re having for this time of year, but what does it portend for the months ahead?

5 ( +9 / -4 )

The plum blossoms in the mountains are about two weeks early this year. Beautiful to see.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Great! I was running out of things to worry about.

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

It was a mild winter in Kansai, but who knows what summer will bring. I read in one of the Australian papers the other day that a La Niña is predicted for later this year...

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

There are buds on the trees here, but it froze yesterday morning. This is about 2-3 weeks early. Need to put the pre-emergence weed fertilizer down ASAP, before they sprout.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Clue to believers: There are plenty of university types and scientists who disagree with the "global warming" narrative

But without evidence their disagreement is mostly only showing lack of professional capacity to do their work. There is a reason why there is no serious, respected institution in the globe that repeat the baseless claims.

Disagreement with evidence is good for science, disagreement based on ignoring evidence and making up your own is not.

5 ( +12 / -7 )

"Spring comes early"?! Down here in Kyushu, we never had a winter. Mild spring-like weather throughout.

Makes me a bit worried about typhoon season.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

A run of temperature and other wether related records being broken year upon year should seriously worry anyone expecting to live decades into the future.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

As is historically the norm year after year, according to the facts and the experts, Mother Nature brings in spring at different times at different temperatures. Anyone doubting this can do basic research to support this, and cannot find anything to disprove it.

-11 ( +2 / -13 )

It was a balmy 20C where I live on Valentine's Day, probably much higher in lower elevations, but since then it has been quite chilly and snowy.

That said I've been able to do something I've never been able to do in my time in Japan in the last 12 months; spend at least one day in every calendar month reading the paper on my deck sans shirt. My house is at almost 1000m.

Warmest winter I've ever known here.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

As is historically the norm year after year, according to the facts and the experts

Are they the favourites to be honest, sincere and serious or are they 50/1 outsiders?

3 ( +6 / -3 )

It is -18C below the seasonal long term average on the Canadian prairies.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

It is -18C below the seasonal long term average on the Canadian prairies.

After a particularly mild winter.

These extremes are exactly climate change.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

@Laguna

What part of Kyushu? There was about the same number of snow days in Fukuoka as in every other year.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Texas is on fire.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

@Strangerland

It is neither extreme nor unusual. The record lows in many places in the great plains occurred over 100 years ago and record highs are older than that. Even in Vancouver the record highs for March 3, 4, and 5 all occurred in 1937.

The point of my post was the story is a great example of selective reporting.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

The forecast over the next 7 days in Fukuoka is for 4 days to be below "normal," 3 days above "normal" and 1 day spot on "normal." Oh, the humanity!

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

The forecast over the next 7 days in Fukuoka is for 4 days to be below "normal," 3 days above "normal" and 1 day spot on "normal." Oh, the humanity!

genius

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

My missus has been in Sapporo this week, ruddy freezing by all accounts.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

@falseflagsteve People don't want to hear that. People don't want to hear that the forecast high in eastern North Carolina is 17° and the average for this time of year is 16°.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

There are a lot of weather reports here. But climate change and weather are two separate things. Climate is the study of climate. Climate is involved with overall activities over time. Yes, there will be days that are seemingly normal. That, too, is predicted by climate change. Sever weather of all sorts are expected. That includes severe winters, extremely hot summers, more flooding, more and bigger hurricanes and cyclones, and very dry conditions, among other extremes. Today's weather is not a climate issue. Weather reporters obviously don't understand the difference.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

@Gene Hennigh So what you are saying is that a scientist who declares "springtime comes earlier" in the northern hemisphere based on her anecdotal evidence of seeing flowers in Eastern North Carolina, the "heat island" effect that has been pushing sakura to flower a bit earlier every year in Tokyo and a couple of cases of warm weather in some locals while ignoring the incidences of below normal cold in other areas isn't much of a scientist? A "scientist" providing anecdotal stories of their weekend on the coast has no credibility. The weather report in Killeen, Texas is hardly convincing. There is no data or statistical analyses provided in the above story to declare spring. The data is not even going to be published for another 2 weeks!

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

The difference is that some anecdotes are supported by science, some anecdotes are denials of science.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@Strangerland

I repeat, the data has not even been published yet.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

I repeat, the data has not even been published yet.

As I said:

The difference is that some anecdotes are supported by science, some anecdotes are denials of science.

Are you suggesting that we haven't been collecting data on the environment for decades?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

the "heat island" effect that has been pushing sakura to flower a bit earlier every year in Tokyo and a couple of cases of warm weather in some locals while ignoring the incidences of below normal cold in other areas isn't much of a scientist? 

The heath island would explain faster blooming in one location compared with another, but it would be a complete failure to explain a continuous shift towards an early bloom on the same place over the years.

The measurements that prove that in general Japan (as the rest of the world) is having hotter years is not based on a couple of cases, nor ignore others.

As is historically the norm year after year, according to the facts and the experts, Mother Nature brings in spring at different times at different temperatures.

Record highs is by definition not the norm, and that is what the experts say about this, even the title of this articles clearly says this is climate change related, and since climate change (as the current global problem) is man made by definition is also the opposite of a natural phenomenon.

Anyone doubting this can do basic research to support this, and cannot find anything to disprove it.

This article disprove both your claims, not finding anything by not reading it is not the solid argument you think you are using.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

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