World Meteorological Day, which occurs today, coincides with
apologies from the Beijing Meteorology Bureau for delivering
inaccurate weather forecasts that left residents unprepared for
much lower temperatures than predicted.
At the same time, there are far greater grounds for concern over
long-term global warming than over a few unexpectedly chilly
days.
The variables in weather, intensified by what we humans have
done to the planet, are evidence that meteorology still has a long
way to go before we will be able to catch even the minor changes of
weather for the benefit of our life and work.
"Polar Meteorology: Understanding Global Impacts" is the theme
for this year's World Meteorological Day. It is of deep
significance in several dimensions.
Our knowledge of the Arctic and Antarctic is far from
sufficient, although research on both poles started more than 100
years ago.
Changes at higher latitudes have significant impacts on all
ecosystems and on all human societies, regardless of their
location. And human activities in densely-populated regions impact
the Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems.
The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole and its growth have
helped us realize the impact of human activities on atmospheric
changes, as have findings on both poles' melting glaciers, sea ice
and permafrost.
These discoveries help us predict weather changes in the near
future. They also serve as a warning that we must exercise
constraint elsewhere on earth to slow the speed of weather change
and, hopefully, to reverse the damage.
Research indicates that the earth's global surface temperature
increased by approximately 0.6 C over the past century. Scientists
estimate that the globe's average surface temperatures will rise by
1.4 to 5.8 C in the next 100 years.
As a result, the melting of the ice at both poles will cause the
sea level to rise, inundating some low-lying areas.
Global warming is proved to be the culprit, caused by the
emission of greenhouse gases.
This day should serve as a reminder to all of us that what we do
now will have an impact on the world's weather, and this change
could be a matter of life and death.
(China Daily March 23, 2007)
