Climate change,

Does it matter?
Martin Hedberg meteorologist
Swedish Weather Center
Weather (Precipitation, clouds, winds, humidity, temperature…)
Natures way of balancing forces in the atmosphere.
 Climate
Climate: Statistics about the weather.

Climate is the average weather pattern over a longer period of time.

100 years
 Climate change (Weather patterns, glaciers, sea level rise…)

Climate change is a significant change in weather patterns.

When you put it in the perspective of a longer period of time you find it has
happened many times before.

100 000 years

 Greenhouse effect
At any planet with an atmosphere.
 Energy radiates from
the earth surface Energy radiates from
the atmosphere

Greenhouse gases are

being warmed by the
Radiation from the radiation from earth
sun warms the
earth’s surface

Without
With
greenhouse gases:
+15
-18 degrees!
degrees!
 - Climate change -
External causes
 Solar activity
 Earths orbit
 Meteorites

Internal causes Internal causes

Natural Anthropogenic
 Feedback  Emissions of greenhouse gases
 Volcanic eruption  Particles/clouds
Chance  Land change
 Greenhouse
gases
(has a warming effect)
Left in the atmosphere
for 100 years

Particles
(mostly a cooling effect)

Left in the atmosphere

for 1 week
Roger Revelle and Hans E. Suess. Carbon Dioxide
Exchange Between Atmosphere and Ocean and the
Question of an increase of Atmospheric CO2 during the
Past Decades. Tellus 1957.
Carbon dioxide is used to describe

CO2
how we affect the climate

 Easy to make statistics from

 Easy to compare to historical climate

 There are more greenhouse gases, both natural and anthropogenic

 There are more things than greenhouse gases that affect the climate
Climate change within 100 years:
About half an ice age, but on the
warm side

Year 2100?

Year 2000
Year 1900

Ice age
Temperature as a tool to measure climate change

 Easy to make statistics from

 Easy to compare to historical climate change

 Might misunderstand ”climate-temperature” vs. daily temperature

 Climate change is also precipitation, humidity, winds etc

The thermometer is how we
measure climate change

But it isn’t about the temperature itself.

It is all about the consequences.

Ideström & Skinnarmo
 It’s getting warmer.

 More evaporation. And more rain.

 Sea-levels are rising, Glaciers are melting, Extreme

weather...

Plants and animals adapt, or disappear.

People and societies adapt.

 Humanity's large self-deception

”It’s just natural climate change”

”When we understand all the physics, we can stop it”

”Somebody else has to lower their emissions”

Many small steps. They all add up.
 More effective use of energy

 Renewable energy

 Capture carbon dioxide

from both bio-fuels and fossil fuels
Average temperature rises Weather patterns change
When, where, how often, strength…

More/heavier precipitation More evaporation.

Flooding, landslides… Drought, erosion, wildfires…
Climate has…

Long braking distance

Climate has…
Domino effects
Climate has…
Many irreversible processes
YES Climate change
matters.
As usual.