The American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just released a report that noted the following:
- The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for November 2013 was record highest for the 134-year period of record, at 0.78°C (1.40°F) above the 20th century average of 12.9°C (55.2°F).
- The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the September–November period was 0.68°C (1.22°F) above the 20th century average of 14.0°C (57.1°F), the second warmest such period on record, behind only 2005.
- The average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces during November 2013 was record highest for November in the 134-year period of record, at 0.78°C (1.40°F) above the 20th century average.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2013/11/
Competing theories and politics around global warming aside, this poses some interesting challenges. Those who challenge leading scientific theories and models on climate change no longer debate that the planet is warming – just what its causes are. Let’s hope it is human caused – because we can then do something about it. If it is mostly unkown or poorly understood natural causes (solar flares etc…) then we are in for a rough ride – all the problems predicted in the climate models and nothing we can do about it.
The implications of this latest NOAA report become more apparent when cross referenced with a 2011 UN report on the implications of climate change and urbanization.
- Climate change is one of the most dangerous threats ever faced by humankind. Fuelled by two powerful human-Induced forces that have been unleashed by development and manipulation of the environment in the industrial age, the effects of urbanization and climate change are converging in ways which threaten to have unprecedented negative impacts on urban quality of life, and economic and social stability.
http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=555&cid=9272
Cities throughout thousands of years of history have been a dramatic locus of human and natural forces. However, with a predicted 6 billion people living in cities by mid-century, clearly, we are entering an era where city planning and design are going to be at the center of our ability to maintain a healthy economy and political stability.
For many, this is just another bad news story about the future of the planet – but if you work in planning, design and development, it is more than an impending tragedy, it is an exciting challenge. This new global reality is a invigorating call to pursue innovative infrastructure, new approaches to food systems, housing diversity, strategies for managing a rapidly diversifying world population with environmental refugees spreading into many G20 countries and many other factors – all converging on our major cities.