LONDON: A new study says climate change means that England is set for more record-breaking warm years just like 2014, which was the warmest since records began.
The study, published Friday in Environmental Research Letters, says that due to manmade emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, there is a “substantial and significant increase in the likelihood of record-breaking warm years.”
The study specifically looked at the climate of Central England because temperature records for the region extend back to 1659, longer than anywhere else in the world, the study says. Using historical data, statistical techniques and computer model simulations with and without higher levels of greenhouse gases, the study found that a clear warming signal could be detected even on a relatively local level.
The study concludes, with 90% confidence, that manmade global warming has increased the chances of record warm years in this region by at least 13-fold. “This study points to a large influence of human activities on extreme warm years despite the small region of study and the variable climate of Central England,” the study’s abstract states. “Our analysis shows that climate change is clearly visible on the local-scale in this case.”
