Letters: Climate change becomes clear over past 1,000 years in France
Connexion reader says that it takes centuries of climatological data to grasp the full impact
Since the late 19th Century, data shows that global temperatures have risen at an unprecedented rate
Claudio Soldi / Shutterstock
To the Editor,
Nick Inman has interesting things to say about climate change and our ability, as individuals, to observe environmental changes in the places where we live
Can we “establish whether the experts are right or wrong” on the basis of such observations?
Sadly, this is not how the argument about human-generated, global climate change can be resolved.
The most convincing argument is based on the long-term climatological data, covering 1,000 years or more, and the comparison of these data with those for the past century or so. The comparison is astonishing.
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In brief, the data show that the climate has varied constantly throughout the long period, but only within certain limits.
But since the late 19th Century, coinciding with the start of the Industrial Revolution, and the associated huge increase in the human consumption of fossil fuels, global temperatures have risen and continue to rise at an unprecedented rate, and in a pattern that is completely different from that of the previous millennium.
That's the case at its most basic. Nick is right to suggest that it is interesting and important to observe change in our own habitats, but these local observations can only be fully understood within a much longer time frame.
Paul Griffiths, Var
Do you feel climate change is an immediate concern or rather one for future generations? Let us know at letters@connexionfrance.com
