Scientists around the world are unanimous in saying that climate change is undeniable. Measurements show that the temperature of the Earth's surface rose by 0.8 degrees Celsius between 1901 and 2010. Much of this increase has occurred over the past 20 years.
While the planet's climate has changed before, today we are seeing the fastest rise in temperature in 1,500 years.
If global warming is undeniable, why do so many people around the world refuse to believe in it? Among the groups denying global warming and the human influence on climate change, a number of "proofs" are popular that refute the warming theory. The problem is that these are, rather, paradoxes and they do not prove anything at all. And that's why.
The winters are getting colder
Popular but not the smartest argument. There is a gap between the weather on one particular day or even the season and the climate. Climate change will be determined by a long period of time, tens and hundreds of years.
Even if we take this argument seriously, it’s not difficult to refute it: high temperature records have recently taken place much more often than low temperature records. In addition, extreme temperatures in the winter and summer seasons, as well as shifting seasons, are a consequence of climate change.
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Arctic ice cover increased in 2013
In 2013, the Arctic ice sheet increased by 29% over the previous year. Isn't it proof that global warming is fiction?
The fact is that the 2013 figures do not prove the general trend. They are simply better than 2012 - one of the worst in recent years. It is worth noting that last 2017 set a record for the minimum Arctic cover at the peak of the winter season.
Polar bears thrive
Despite the melting ice, the population of polar bears in eastern Canada has increased in recent years. This is contrary to the predictions of scientists, isn't it?
Not certainly in that way. To begin with, calculating the population of polar bears is difficult. But even if it increases, it could be the result of a ban on the sale of the skins of young harp seals, which has increased their population, and therefore more food for bears.
Global temperature has not increased since 1998
This seems like a compelling argument, given that the global temperature rise between 1997 and 2012 was comparatively small - just 0.05 degrees Celsius.
It is worth noting that this is only five years, not even ten, and certainly not a hundred. The earth's surface temperature has previously been relatively stable for certain short periods, but more importantly, all climate models and observations show one thing: global warming is occurring and temperatures are rising.
Carbon dioxide is a tiny part of the atmosphere
Even though we are emitting more carbon dioxide into the air than ever before, its content in the atmosphere is negligible (0.5%), so what's the problem?
And the fact is that carbon dioxide retains heat perfectly. Only 0.5% of the atmosphere is responsible for 20% of the greenhouse effect. It's like saying that a small amount of cyanide won't harm a large human body.
Natural warming and cooling cycles
Even those people who believe in global warming sometimes refuse to believe that it is caused by human activity. Instead, they talk about natural cycles of climate change in Earth's history.
It is worth noting, however, that global temperatures have increased more over the past century than over the past 11,300 years. In no time period that scientists can reliably describe and estimate, has the temperature not risen so quickly and so high.
But what about the ice age?
Almost all scientists today agree with the theory of global warming, but what about their assurances from the 1970s, when they confidently spoke about the Little Ice Age?
To begin with, not all memes are worth believing. This information is highly distorted. During the early days of climate modeling, there were indeed a few scientists who believed the Earth was cooling, but they were always in the minority. A review of the scientific literature from 1965 to 1979 indicates that 86% of scientific articles dealt with warming.
Climatologists falsify data
People who refuse to believe in global warming simply believe that scientists regularly falsify research results in order to gain citation in scientific journals and get research funding. They may be doing this in order to scare the public, influence government policy, and win doubters over to their side.
If such a conspiracy were real, all the world's scientists and most politicians would be conspiring against a small number of climate skeptics.
Climate change does not affect hurricanes and droughts
The past 2017 was full of natural disasters, from droughts and fires to floods and hurricanes. Skeptics argue that none of this is affected by global warming. To a certain extent, they are right.
Scientists claim that such weather phenomena occur naturally. However, global warming is significantly aggravating their effects. For example, hurricanes don't form more often, but get stronger. The same goes for droughts.
Global warming is just a theory
As skeptics say, a theory is a theory because it cannot be conclusively proven.
This popular argument against global warming is a dummy. The fact that this is a theory does not disprove any of the specific features of climate change and its consequences. The theory of relativity is also just a theory, but we all enjoy using GPS.
Hope Chikanchi