In my effort to try and document unusual weather patterns - with a particular focus on record hot temperatures and dangerous heat waves all around the world, since that is what climate change/global warming deniers tend to fixate on - this particular blog entry is, admittedly, a bit outdated.
Admittedly, I had not heard anything about the massive and unusually extreme heat wave which much of Asia experienced just a few months ago.
It turns out that March of 2025 was the hottest month of March in Asian history. Since Asia is in the Northern Hemisphere, most of the month is, technically speaking, in the winter, although the final ten or so days, roughly, mark the beginning of spring. Still, it is usually a bit more moderate than what much of Asia experienced in late March.
Here are some of the specifics (Americans reading this should please note that these temperatures are in Celsius, which almost all of the rest of the world uses, and not Fahrenheit):
In March 2025, Central Asia faced a heatwave that surprised everyone with its intensity. Thermometers hit 30.8°C in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan, 29.4°C in Namangan, and 29.1°C in Fergana, Uzbekistan. Even nights brought no relief – in Shardara, Kazakhstan, the temperature didn’t drop below 18.3°C, making it the hottest March night in the country’s history. The areas east of the Ural Mountains – Kazakhstan, eastern Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan – were hit hardest between March 18 and 22. Even in lower parts of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, temperatures exceeded 30°C, despite being at altitudes of 1,000 meters above sea level.
Central Asia is accustomed to distinct seasonal cycles – with hot summers from May to August and much cooler Marches. This year, however, conditions significantly deviated from the norm. Recorded temperatures were clearly higher than the March average for the 1991–2020 period, clearly indicating a weather anomaly.
A number of times now, I have debated Americans, specifically, who seem intent on denying the existence of climate change after experiencing chilly or even extremely cold or snowy weather conditions during the winter or early spring, when it sometimes can feel like Old Man Winter refuses to loosen his grip.
But the thing of it is, they seem to forget the global part of global warming. One cool day in Florida in the spring or a massive snowstorm and/or frigid spell in the northeastern United States does not disprove the "global warming theory." Also, I challenge them to pay attention to record hot temperatures or heat waves during the summer, and ask why they never seem to cast their doubts during those heat waves, or cast aspersions on those kinds of headlines. Usually, I advocate for them to actually familiarize themselves a bit more with what scientists actually predicted, which most certainly not merely a planet growing warmer and warmer all of the time, and without seasonal variations.
Because to me, headlines of very unusual and severe heat waves like this, even in faraway Asia, is not good news for us. Especially when you include other record heatwaves that are severe enough to make world headlines, and which seem to be happening everywhere. Right now, it is happening in the United States. Days ago, it was India and Pakistan experiencing dangerous heat waves. A few weeks ago, it happened in Europe, Greenland and Iceland also just saw a very unusual, record heatwave, as well. A few weeks before that, in March, it was central Asia.
These are not as isolated to the regions as some people might think, especially when we are seeing it happen all over the world, with increasing and alarming frequency.
Let's start paying attention!
March 2025 the hottest in central Asia’s history: temperatures exceeded 30°C by Iwona Szyprowska-Głodzik, 9 April 2025
https://wodnesprawy.pl/en/march-2025-central-asia-temperatures-over-30c/
Extraordinary March heatwave in Central Asia up to 10 °C hotter in a warming climate published by World Weather Attribution, 04 April, 2025:
https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extraordinary-march-heatwave-in-central-asia-up-to-10-c-hotter-in-a-warming-climate/
No comments:
Post a Comment