Global warming addendum

Changes in the global temperature have been incremental – and anything but uniform, according to an analysis of temperature data from government satellites.

Overall, the world temperature has increased 0.91 degrees Fahrenheit in the 36-year dataset, said John Christy, the University of Alabama scientist who is a keeper of the data.

But the Northern Hemisphere, with a far greater land mass, has warmed at double the rate of the Southern Hemisphere, which has far greater ocean coverage.

As Christy explained, lands would responde more quickly to a warming than the oceans.

Of significance is the rapid warming in the Arctic, where temperatures were up over 3 degrees in the satellite period, and ice-freed water has been interacting with the atmosphere..

By contrast, temperatures dropped in Antarctic regions.

Warming in the contiguous United States also has outpaced worldwide warming, with temperatures up 1.43 degrees.