This week NOAA released their latest report, the fifth edition of Explaining Extreme Events from a Climate Perspective, which presents 25 peer-reviewed research papers that examine episodes of extreme weather of 2015 over five continents and two oceans. It features the research of 116 scientists from 18 countries analyzing both historical observations and changing trends along with model results to determine whether and how climate change may have influenced the event.
Evidence for human-influenced climate change was identified for:
- Ten extreme heat events, including heat waves in Europe, India, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Japan, and Australia
- The record average global temperature in 2015
- Record-low Arctic sea ice in March
- Alaska’s intense wildfire season
- Extreme drought in southwestern Canada
- Extreme May rainfall in southeast China
- Florida’s “sunny day” flood in September
- Record winter sunshine in the United Kingdom
No climate change signal was found for:
- Outbreaks of extreme cold in the eastern US and Canada
- The late onset of Nigeria’s spring rainy season
- Heavy daily precipitation in December over Chennai, India
You can read more about it in their media release at https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/scientists-strong-evidence-human-caused-climate-change-intensified-2015-heat-waves.
