Fewer Days Of Extreme Cold And More Days Of Extreme Heat In Europe

Freezing is 0ºC = 32ºF Boiling is 100ºC = 212ºF
The temperature conversion formula is F = 9/5C + 32
So the conversion formula for the difference is
F2 - F1 = (9/5C2 + 32) - (9/5C1 + 32) = 9/5(C2 - C1)
So a change of 0.5ºC = 9/5*0.5 = a change of 0.9ºF
So a change of 1ºC = 9/5 = a change of 1.8ºF
So a change of 2ºC = 9/5*2 = a change of 3.6ºF

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090130084127.htm

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2009) — Scientists from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) have selected 262 European observatories which analysed the series of minimum and maximum daily temperatures from 1955 to 1998 to estimate trend variations in extreme temperature events. According to the study, in Europe days of extreme cold are decreasing and days of extreme heat increasing. From 0.5ºC to 1ºC in the average minimum temperature, and from 0.5ºC to 2ºC in the average maximum temperature.
...
Since 1860, the planet's average temperature has increased by 0.60ºC. “In particular, in the 2003 heatwave, which affected most of Europe, the average temperature was 3°C [5.4°F] more than the normal value for the summers from 1961 to 1990 with the most significant increases being in central France, Switzerland, northern Italy and southern Germany”, stressed Marco Cony, co-author of the study and physicist at the UCM.

An example of the effects of days of extreme heat, which will increase [difference] in frequency, is the heatwave that hit Europe in 2003. That summer record maximum temperatures were recorded in monthly, weekly and daily scales. For example, in Switzerland a temperature of 41.50ºC [106.7ºF] was recorded while in Portugal, 47.30ºC [117.14ºF].

Experts warn that excessive heat can cause stress, worsening of diseases and even death, such as in the summer of 2003, when over 30,000 people died throughout Europe from the high temperatures.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28931926/

Record heat scorches southern Australia
Melbourne tops 113 F on Friday; moths sizzle, die on hitting pavement

updated 12:09 p.m. ET, Fri., Jan. 30, 2009

MELBOURNE, Australia - Southern Australia suffered Friday from a record-breaking heat wave that has threatened rural towns with wildfires and sent ambulance crews after heat-stressed patients.

Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city recorded its third consecutive day of temperatures above 109 F for the first time since 1855, when record-keeping began, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128104533.htm

Global Warming From Carbon Dioxide Will Increase Five-fold Over The Next Millennium, Scientists Predict

ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2009) — Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that heating from carbon dioxide will increase five-fold over the next millennium.

Scientists studied the impact that current carbon emissions have on the delicate balance between air and sea carbon exchange. They found that the ocean’s ability to store excessive amounts of carbon dioxide over thousands of years will affect the long-term heating of the planet.

The ocean acts as an enormous carbon sink which naturally absorbs any extra carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere. Its ability to store more carbon dioxide than both the atmosphere and land provides long-term storage for the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities.

Scientists at Liverpool, however, have found that if all conventional coal, oil and gas carbon reserves are exhausted, the excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will begin to alter the ocean’s natural chemistry and hinder its ability to absorb and exchange the gas.

Professor Ric Williams, from the University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, explains: “It is accepted that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations lead to an increase in heating around the globe. It was, however, unclear as to how the ocean’s ability to store carbon could affect the future overall heating of the earth.

“The excessive amount of carbon in the atmosphere will make the oceans more acidic and hamper the ability of the oceans to absorb further carbon from the atmosphere. The extra carbon dioxide remaining in the atmosphere will lead to an increase in the overall heating of our planet, making sea levels rise and exacerbating the melting of the Arctic ice caps.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090129090002.htm

Glaciers Around The Globe Continue To Melt At High Rates
ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2009) — Glaciers around the globe continue to melt at high rates. Tentative figures for the year 2007, of the World Glacier Monitoring Service at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, indicate a further loss of average ice thickness of roughly 0.67 meter water equivalent (m w.e.). Some glaciers in the European Alps lost up to 2.5 m w.e.