15th February 2024
Over the next few weeks I plan to look at some of the words and phrases we use in connection with the climate crisis.
Climate change is any sustained change in the global climate that occurs over the long term – at least a decade. Climate change is not new. Over the last thousand years there have been changes in climate such as the ‘mini ice age’ which refers to a period between 1300 and 1850 when temperatures fell by about 0.5C producing colder winters when in England the Thames froze and cooler summers when people noted the lack of sunny days. This period coincided with a larger than usual number of volcanic eruptions around the world. Volcanic ash in the atmosphere can produce more cloud and reduce temperatures.
Over the longer time scale there have been real ice ages when temperatures have really plummeted.
The last glacial period ended 11,000 years ago having lasted for about 100,000 plus years. During that time temperatures fell by about 6C below our current 20th century average.
Climate change is now frequently used to mean anthropogenic climate change – climate change that has been caused by human activities.
The Green Tau 