Publication Date December 15, 2015 | Gawker

A Warm Christmas Is Just One Piece of Our Hot and Rotting Future

United States
A springlike warm spell in December is not any sort of decisive proof of anything. It is, however, a probabilistic result that is becoming more likely to happen as the planet warms up
The weather doesn’t care how you feel about it. Image Credit: Gawker
The weather doesn’t care how you feel about it. Image Credit: Gawker

What does a warm December signify?...If you are of a mind to worry about the warming of the planet, you might look at this and worry...Alternatively, you can “enjoy it!” That’s the advice of Slate’s weather writer Eric Holthaus, who wrote yesterday that there was no point in worrying about it...A springlike warm spell in December is not any sort of decisive proof of anything. It is, however, a probabilistic result that is becoming more likely to happen as the planet warms up...Taken in isolation, this sticky December would be nothing to worry about. The weather doesn’t happen in isolation, though...For the year as a whole in New York, so far, there have been 208 days with an above-average high temperature, and 127 with a below-average high. The warming trend is a thumb on the scale. The weird muggy holiday season isn’t disturbing because it stands so far out from the rest of the year. It’s disturbing because it fits in.