Friday, February 07, 2025

 

The Doubletake Walk, 38th Day of Childwinter, 525 M.E. (Betelgeuse): Even as I froze my ass off here in Atlanta last month, the planet as a whole had its warmest January on record.

The warmth was apparently something of a surprise to climate scientists as it occurred during La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean, which tend to lower the globe’s average temperature. Because of La Niña, researchers were expecting this year to be slightly cooler than the past two years, both of which experienced the opposite, El Niño, pattern. 

However, last month was much warmer than usual in northern Canada, Alaska and Siberia, as well as parts of Australia and Antarctica. Abnormally high temperatures above Hudson Bay and the Labrador Sea helped shrink Arctic sea ice to a record low for January.

Among the lessons here: just because you're cold, don't assume everyone else on Earth is. Same holds if you're warm. Or, for that matter, well-fed or hungry, rich or poor, happy or sad. 

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