the average temperature increase in the last 100 years is only 2°F. How can such a small amount be impactful?

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Not looking for a political argument. I need facts. I am in no way a climate change denier, but I had a conversation with someone who told me the average increase is only 2°F over the past 100 years. That doesn’t seem like a lot and would support the argument that the climate goes through waves of changes naturally over time.

I’m going to run into him tomorrow and I need some ammo to support the climate change argument. Is it the rate of change that’s increasing that makes it dangerous? Is 2° enough to cause a lot of polar ice caps to melt? I need some facts to counter his. Thanks!

Edit: spelling

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26 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Think of most climate events as a stock and flow. The amount of ice in the arctic is the result of a bunch of water freezing every winter and a bunch thawing every summer.

If there are a few more days with the weather above freezing and fewer with the temperature lower, the ice will start melting.

A few more days with warmer ocean temperatures each year means more chances for storms and more severe storms.

I mean, to put it bluntly, when glaciers covered most of the Earth the average temperature was only about 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than today.

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