At the moment, many are talking about this article about the end of the world because of global warming. The planet is burning up, and this is only the start of most people agreeing with it, okay. We propose to put in perspective the difference between global warming and climate change. At MétéoGlobale, we often use the term climate change and very rarely global warming.
And it’s not an ideological issue. Indeed, if we look at our neighbors in the United States, they will talk more about global warming than climate change.
It makes sense because the accumulation of greenhouse gases since the industrial period that has had the effect of trapping heat on the surface of the Earth and this causes global warming. However, not all areas of the planet are affected in the same way.
If we look at the polar areas, they warm up twice as fast as the rest of the planet. In France, the south-west has an average increase of 1.1°, and even 1.8° around Marseille, while the rest of the country has only seen an increase of 0.7° since the start of the 20th century.
Climate zones, therefore, react differently according to their geographical position, the nature of the soil and ocean currents. So, it’s better to talk about climate change.
2018, the sign of climate change?
That’s the trick question. It’s hard to talk about climate change within a single year. In addition, this year will certainly be qualified by climatologists as abnormal. It is out of the norm and therefore an exception. That being said, climate change is here. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are certainly tangible proof of these changes.
For 2018, let us see what the final analysis by long-term climatologists, as well as history, judge the merits of this type of affirmation.