Climate cuttings 26

I haven't written one of these Climate Cuttings posts since before Christmas, but there have been quite a few interesting stories around this week, which I thought I could usefully point people to.

Anthony Watts caught the US Environmental Protection Agency suppressing dissenting voices on global warming.

Remember all those stories about climate change refugees flooding the developed world? It's now admitted that that they were exaggerated.

The UK's Meteorological Office has had its climate change research budget slashed.

The US Climate Change bill, seen by all outside the green fringe as howling mad, looked likely to stumble in the House of Representatives, with Democrats admitting they needed more support.

Global sea ice levels remain around their long-term average. Forecasters are saying the September minimum will be in line with last year.

The Antarctic ice shelf also seems to be rather more stable than we were previously lead to believe.

Steve McIntyre found that the trend in the UK's temperature record for Hawaii differs from the US's by approximately two degrees per century. Of course one would like to check what adjustment CRU makes to its data, but it's a secret.

Alert readers noticed that one of the graphs in the Copenhagen Synthesis Report had been "adjusted" so that recent temperatures looked a bit cooler.

Comments

[James P]

This might amuse you, too. Funny how the Met Office reverts to Fahreheit when it's trying to emphasise the heat. Do you think that centre court temperature (41C) was taken in the shade?

http://tinyurl.com/l5z7t6

[Bishop Hill]

I tried to find the Met Office press release for this story, but it doesn't seem to be there. It may be the Telegraph playing silly bees.

[Jeff Wood]

"The UK's Meteorological Office has had its climate change research budget slashed."

Damn. This was on my list of things to do when I take power.

Does this affect Hadley, or will it be there for my chainsaw massacre, sorry - mass issue of P45s?

[Bishop Hill]

You do wonder if it occurs to the scientists that their prophecies of doom might backfire on them in exactly this way. If we decarbonise the economy by 80% we ain't going to be able to afford many climatologists, are we?

[Pogo]

"The UK's Meteorological Office has had its climate change research budget slashed."

Well... It doesn't cost a lot for a laptop and a printer capable of knocking out "Next summer will be extremely hot, followed by a warmer-than-usual winter" from a .txt file. They've got to be right sometimes on the "stopped clock" basis. :-)

[James P]

Not exactly as reported by the Telegraph (who possibly have their own thermometer at Wimbledon) but there is a 'heat health' warning from the MO here:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2009/pr20090626.html

It sounds like they're very anxious to have their GW agenda fulfilled!

[James P]

According to the MO, Casa JP on the Isle of Wight should be bathed in sunshine. According the Meteox.com, we are about to be deluged by a band of rain currently extending to the Channel Islands. Guess which I believe..?

[James P]

I was amused to hear the MO announcing that June was the warmest and driest for three years! It would have been a much bigger surprise if it hadn't, given the last two, but I notice they didn't mention that those summers had also been forecast as hot and sunny.

Interesting comment on El Reg yesterday, pointing out the measured temperature record started at roughly the same time that industrialisation covered our towns in smog (blocking out sunlight) and when the Little Ice Age was just packing up its bags. As a reference point, it must have been about the coldest starting point possible...