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Sunday 3 January 2010

Those 'experts' at the Met Office

I note that in February those climate change experts at the Met Office reported that despite the 2008/09 winter being "expected to be the coldest UK winter since 1995/96, according to provisional Met Office figures... the trend to milder and wetter winters is expected to continue, with snow and frost becoming less of a feature in the future." Apparently the "Natural variability of climate means that the UK will continue to see spells of colder weather at times. Although, if it had not been for the general warming already observed in global temperatures, this winter may well have been even colder."

This is the same Met Office who confidently predicted a "barbecue summer" for a summer that saw heavy rainfall and the wettest July for almost 100 years.

This is the same Met Office whose October long range forecast was for a mild winter.
Oddly Met Office figures to be released on Monday are expected to show that the UK is experiencing the coldest winter for up to 25 years.

This is the same Met Office that is proud to inform the world of the following "credentials":
"* World-class knowledge and experience to guide you through all the science.
* Practical experience of helping our customers manage the impacts of the weather and climate change.
* Significant contributor to the global understanding of climate change, from one day to 100 years ahead.
* Key science contributor to the UKCP09.
* We make substantial contributions to the Nobel Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
* We help inform government policy."


Isn't it odd how the Met Office are so certain of what the world's future climate will be like but can't even predict the weather two months ahead of time...

1 comment:

opsimath said...

...two months ahead?

Two days ahead would be better than they are achieving now, even with their massive staff, super-computers and bottomless pit of tax-payers money.