Whenever the Mayan and Sumerian calendars align on a harmonic prime, The BFD takes a look at how Dr Viner’s prediction in 2000 is working out.
Snow is starting to disappear from our lives. Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain’s culture, as warmer winters – which scientists are attributing to global climate change – produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries … Global warming, the heating of the atmosphere by increased amounts of industrial gases, is now accepted as a reality by the international community … According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit of the University of East Anglia, within a few years winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”. “Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said.
The Independent, 20 March 2000
So how’s it looking this northern hemisphere winter? As always, the Finnish Meteorological Institute has the current numbers.
Oh dear! As we approach the mid-winter peak it seems that there is approximately 3,200 gigatonnes of the white stuff still here, about 14% more than the average amount for 1982-2012 and well outside the plus/minus one standard deviation range.
And … the Thames froze over this year – hasn’t done that since 1963.
Still, trust the settled science, it is the wise thing to do. Ban gas and oil and stop the runaway global warming.
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