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Comment by at-fates-hands | Hacker News Reader

> "Six of the warmest years on record occurred during the past decade"

This data is completely relative. In the midwest, the last several years have been some of the coldest on record. So while the West Coast had some of the driest and warmest weather, the midwest has seen some of the coldest:

The climate statistics are in from the National Weather Service and winter 2013-2014 will go down as one of the coldest on record in both Missouri and Illinois.

State wide temperature data showed Missouri finished the December 2013 to February 2014 period 4.6°F below normal, which is the tenth coldest on record, and coldest since 1979. Illinois saw its 9th coldest winter on record, also the coldest since 1979, with an average winter temperature 6.3° below normal. Climate records date back to 1895.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/weather/2013-14-winter-ranks-in...

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This is a fallacy. "It's cold where I am" is not disproof of climate change. You can have locally-cold temperatures while global-average temperatures continue to rise.

In fact, "extreme weather patterns" are predicted by climate change scientists. Some areas will get really cold while other areas get really hot. Temperatures fluctuating wildly should be cause for concern.

> This is a fallacy. "It's cold where I am" is not disproof of climate change.

Agreed! It’s just unfortunate people just as often use “it’s hot where I am” to prove climate change. But they get a pass because they’re on the correct side.

>people

Which "people"? This is a strawman.

>they get a pass because they’re on the correct side.

You know what, if you read an Addition Table, and memorize that 2+2=4, but you don't know how to reason it out from the base principals, field and ring theory, geometry, etc? Sure you get a pass. The experts have done the math many times, and you can trust them.

If you want to tell me 2+2=5 because you found an table from an Addition Denier online? Then yeah, you're going to be ridiculed.

Not exactly "relative". The statement that 2019 was the second-hottest on record refers to global temperatures. The midwest being colder is completely worthless as a counterargument. It's like pointing out that I'm shorter than my father in response to the claim that my generation was taller than the previous generation. Sure, my statement is true, and it's superficially about the same thing. It's worthless as an actual rebuttal, though.

> This data is completely relative.

No, it's not. These are global temperatures. 2019 was the second-hottest year on record, looked at globally.

Furthermore, locally larger weather shifts (and even unseasonably cold areas) are completely consistent with, in fact expected, for increased global temperatures. That energy has to go somewhere.

Australia had the hottest year on record in 2019 as well as breaking the hottest day on record multiple times in the same week

And it was only not the hottest because of a neutral ENSO. ENSO (the El Nino - La Nina cycle) puts a wobble on the trend. A strong El Nino year will bust the current 2016 record.

The UK Met easily predicted this year's temps to be second-highest.

That's not relative, that's local and non-linear. Do pay attention.

Though "earth's temperature" is indeed a spoken term that hides lots of complexity, let me assure you that under no scientific discussion it is understood to be "the midwest temperature".

(hopefully this will not shock my American friends)

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