1. Rising Temperatures

2. Various Temperature Reconstructions from 200-2008

4. Arctic Air Temperatures from Proxies (blue) and Observed Temperatures (red)

5. Temperatures from Proxies and Instruments for Last 1,800 Years The current temperature rise is unprecedented It coincides with the Industrial Revolution and the exponential population growth It also coincides with the rapid rise in greenhouse gas emissions

6. Radiative and Net Climate Forcing (1880-2006)

8. Temperature Anomaly (1880-2009) Base: 1951-1980 Aerosols

9. Hemispheric Temperature Anomaly (1880-2009) Base: 1951-1980

10. 5-year and 11-year Monthly Mean Temperatures for the Entire Earth and the Northern (N.H.) and Southern (S.H.) Hemispheres. (Base is 1951-1980)

11. Temperature Change from 1850-2009 Mean surface temperature change for 2001-2007 relative to the 1951-1980 base (top). Global average temperature 1850-2009 relative to the baseline period 1880-1920 estimated from NASA/GISS data set (red) and the Hadley data (blue). The final bold point is estimated for 2009.

12. Temperature Trend 1983-2008

13. Global Temperature Index for 5- and 11-year Running Mean

14. Hottest Years Ranked by the British Meteorological Office The Current Decade Was the Hottest

15. Variations of the Arctic Oscillation that are responsible for cold Arctic air reaching lower latitudes (negative values). The extreme negative oscillation for Dec. 2009 is shown.

17. IPCC Projected Temperature Rise

19. Temperature, CO 2 Concentrations and Carbon Emissions

20. Temperature Increase 1992-2004 The yellows and reds on these world maps are positive (warm) anomalies while blues are negative (cool) anomalies. The greatest amount of heating has occurred generally in the Northern Hemisphere and specifically in the Arctic regions.

21. Temperature Anomaly for 2007

22. CO 2 and Temperature Stabilization Temperature Rise (°C)CO 2 (ppm) CO 2 -eq. (ppm) Year of Peak Emissions Percent Change in global emissions Global average temperature increase above pre-industrial at equilibrium, using “best estimate” climate sensitivity CO 2 concentration at stabilization (2010 = 388 ppm) CO 2 -eq. Concentration at stabilization including GHGs and aerosols (2008 = 395 ppm) Peaking year of CO 2 emissions Change in CO 2 emissions in 2050 (percent of 2000 emissions) 2.0-2.4350-400445-4902000-2015−85 to −50 2.4-2.8400-440490-5352000-2020−60 to −30 2.8-3.2440-485535-5902010-2030−30 to +5 3.2-4.0485-570590-7102020-2060+10 to +60 4.0-4.9570-660710-8552050-2080+25 to +85 4.9-6.1660-790855-11302060-2090+90 to +140 Data from: IPCC, 2007:Synthesis Report.

23. Temperature Anomaly at CO 2 Stabilization Relative to 1800

24. Only Human-caused Greenhouse Gas Emissions Can Account for Global Warming The black line is the observed temperature rise. The red area is computer simulations of all emissions, including human. The blue area is computer simulations of only natural emissions and the increase in solar activity.

26. Rise in the Ocean Heat Content

27. The Warming Oceans

28. Earth’s Heat Gain During the Past 50 years (10 21 Joules*) Oceans = 145 (84%) Continents = 10.4 (6%) Earth’s Ice = 8.1 (5%) Atmosphere = 6.6 (4%) *A joule is a unit of heat energy

29. What Global Average Temperatures Become Critical and Catastrophic for Humans? The current best estimate is 2° C above pre-industrial levels is potentially critical. About 4° C is potentially catastrophic. The Earth is now 0.8° C above pre-industrial levels. When the CO 2 abundance reaches ~450 ppm the temperature anomaly will eventually exceed 2° C. At ~650 ppm it will eventually reach a minimum of 4° C. The current abundance (2010) is 388 ppm and rising at a rate of ~2 ppm/year, and this rate is increasing. We have about 30 years to stabilize the greenhouse gas abundance by cutting emissions ~70% (~80% for CO 2 only). Even at today’s abundance the temperature anomaly will reach the critical level in about 40 years.

30. WHAT IS CRITICAL AND WHAT IS CATASTROPHIC? CRITICAL --- serious drop in food production, serious water shortages, significant sea level rise, political unrest, major drop in world GDP, major animal extinctions and millions of human deaths. Third-world countries, e.g. Africa, are affected most, including large human migrations. CATASTROPHIC --- mass extinction event (>50% species extinction), major sea level rise, mass starvation, political and economic chaos, ~50% human deaths (>3 billion people). Probably the end of civilization as we know it today.

31. Atmospheric Abundance of CO 2 and Global Temperatures CO 2 (ppm) Average Global Temperature (°C) Event 1809Last Ice Age Maximum 28013Interglacial Period (Holocene) 35014 Upper Limit to Preserve Ice Sheets 38714.6Today 45016Critical for Humans and Other Species 650~20 Catastrophic for Humans and Other Species ~1500~25Hot House Maximum

32. Possible CO 2 Concentrations and Temperature Increases

33. Possible Temperature Rise

34. Projected Temperature Rise for Additional Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)

35. Added CO 2 Equivalent for Other GHGs

36. Warming or Cooling for CO 2, Other GHGs and Aerosols

38. Past and Future Temperatures