Global cooling in Kenya? Well, it’s definitely not getting warmer everywhere!

There was a hailstorm in Kenya, about 220km from Nairobi. The heavy hailstorm fell on a deforested hillside in Gikingi Village. Snow followed to children’s delight and snowmen were … well, nothing about the snowmen. Not enough of the white stuff. But perhaps for the first time ever, Kenyans discovered what a cold drink tastes like, no?

“I have not seen such a thing ever since I was born,” said one resident of Nyahururu.

“The hailstones falling on the ground joined together to form expansive sheets of ice or snow flakes occupying a large area, 30 acres,” Kenya’s Meteorological Department said.

There’s got to be a scientist, sophisticated or otherwise reading GP who can explain to me in terms I can understand (remember, I am slow) how snow or in that case ice, can fall in Kenya which sits just 1 degree south of the equator.

Even if I don’t get an explanation, Kenyans had a treat for a day. Now where’s Santa in the middle of summer when you need him?

Sources: 1, 2

The global warming alarmists don’t like hearing there might be other causes to climate change … say, like increased activity from the Sun. A friend, who really is a rocket scientist, sent me a link to the story – Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a Century.

For the first time in nearly 100 years the Sun passed without a single visible sunspot in a full month. I am not sure how they checked this out 100 years ago, but we’ll take their word for it.

Some scientists/researchers are now predicting another ice age. Talk about contrasts. A room full of scientists and a room full of economists are pretty much the same. Lay them end to end and they will never reach a conclusion.

On climate change – “the effect of sunspots on TSI (total solar irradiance) is negligible, but the reduction in the solar magnetosphere affects cloud formation here on Earth, which in turn modulates climate.”

“The sunspot cycle has strong effects on irradiance in certain wavelengths such as the far ultraviolet, which affects ozone production.”

Hmm … you mean it might not be us humans who are screwing up the climate after all? Go figure.

Mt. Fuji is tall enough to get snow pretty early on in the season. It’s something like 3,776 meters. I know, I have been up it three times…despite the old proverb.

“He who climbs Fuji once is wise, he who climbs it twice is a fool.”

What about three times?

Anyway, it can get cold up there in late spring, early fall. But, this year, snow fell on Mt. Fuji on August 9th. It is the earliest time ever for Japan’s iconic symbol to get snow fall.

The previous record was August 12th, 1914.

This year’s snowfall is 53 days earlier than average and 58 days earlier than last year.

Does that mean Japan can expect a serious winter?

Or is just Global Cooling?

What was the coolest year, in the last 5 years? The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has the answer and apparently 2008 is. Even though we’re above historical averages after the first 6 months, the forecast is clear and temperatures will be the coolest of the past five years.

I don’t think this is something encouraging, because the Earth is still globally warming. The recent lower figures are attributed to La Nina (“the little girl” in Spannish) which followed the warmer El Nino. However, Climate scientists caution that La Nina is weakening and the second part of the year could become much warmer than expected.

Greenhouse gas emissions are still there and causing global warming so we shouldn’t celebrate as the past decade was the hottest of all times (or at least since 1850 when they started recording).

How is/was the weather in your part of the world?

Image courtesy of robertoriccobelli

The Goddard Space Flight Center under NASA has concluded that declines in rainfall on the eastern seaboard countries of Africa – Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, happened because of irregularities in the transport of moisture between the ocean and land.

Computer models and observations over a half century were analyzed and the result – eastern Africa rainfall has declined by 15% since the 1980s. Rainfall and temperature increases over the ocean were also linked to a rainfall decline.

“We can be quite certain that the decline in rainfall has been substantial and will continue to be,” said a co-researcher, ” This 15-percent decrease every 20-25 years is likely to continue.”

He’s not only a climatologists (fancy word for weather guesser) he is also a prophet. Tell me, how can a weatherman who cannot predict the temps next week know what the weather will be like in 20-25 years? He can’t do it.

Meanwhile, East African umbrella making companies are hoping for a second opinion.

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I don’t particularly like the word ‘nature.’ I prefer the word creation. It’s all about my convictions. But, that’s not the point of this post. The point is when things get out of whack on our home planet, they can really get out of kilter. And, there is not a whole lot we can do about it.

A flood in southern China triggered cave-ins, landslides, and mudslides. The result was some 147 geological disasters and 1,980 people having their safety threatened. People died, transport, power and communications were disrupted.

Torrential rains hit 11 prefectures in cities throughout the area over the past few days causing landslides, more flooding and mud-rock flow. $108 million in damages.

There is not a whole lot we can do about it … except, we can take care of what we have. We don’t know when the Earth, nature, creation (choose your word) will fight back. In the meantime, let’s be good stewards of what we have been entrusted in.

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An Ohio State University researcher claimed that Mt Kilimanjaro will lose its snow cap between 2015-2020. He made is guesstimate based on photos taken in 1912 and 2001. At that time, Mt. Kilimanjaro had lost 82% of its snow cap/ice cover.

“The sky is falling in Africa, the sky is falling in Africa!” was the alarmists’ cry.

Turns out that according to an English University study that the claim may not be accurate after all. A Portsmouth University group climbed the mountain and analyzed the ice, the rate at which the snow cap is/was melting and came to a different conclusion.

First – the temperature on top of the mountain was considerably below zero degree centigrade.

Second – the snow on top of Africa’s highest mountain peak is bound to change due to climatic changes

Third – the snow cap is still big enough to sustain the current erosion at the present rate.

So now, what are global warming alarmists going to point at?

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In a previous post I wrote Beijing was planing to artificially change the weather for the Olympics if they needed to. Good news, I suppose, they won’t have to. How do you say “whew!” in Chinese, I wonder? The forecast will be overcast (smog?) but no rain is expected according to the China Meterological Administration. A shower in the afternoon and temps from 25-30C (78-86F).

Some 100,000 people, athletes and fans, are expected to be in the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) on Friday for the opening ceremony. Moderate rain is expected over the weekend. Won’t matter, I suppose, early events in the Olympics are indoors – swimming, basketball and such.

Weather forecasts will be broadcast every hour, 24 hours in advance. Four satellites will check out the clouds every 15 minutes, and 186 weather stations will gather data every 5 minutes. There are also seven fixed Doppler radar stations and two mobile stations. All this to tell us it’s going to rain, or not, be hot or not. And, then what?

Can you say overkill?

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Beijing is pulling out all the stops in order to have clear weather for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics Games. The government says that if bad weather threatens then meteorologists will be asked to step in and change the weather.  Whoa! It almost makes me wish for rain, or thunderstorms and heavy winds and such just to see if the climateers can pull it off.

China’s vice director with the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) says the meteorologists have been practicing to make artificial weather modifications for the past 5 years, especially on reducing rainfall. 

“Artificial weather modification could be useful when a drizzle occurs,” he said. “But in case of a heavy rainfall, no one can help.”

Official forecasts for the opening games are due out on August 1st, a week before they kick off. According to city weather statistics, there’s a 47% chance of drizzle on August 8th. That sounds about right for most anywhere. Maybe it’ll rain, maybe it won’t.

So, how would they stop the drizzle anyway? Giant umbrella?

The guys in this house of umbrellas won’t mind for sure.

Something tells me that people ought not be messing with the weather. But, then China has definitely been doing their part to mess things up.