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Comment by jonwinstanley | Hacker News Reader

UK weather has been very odd over the last 12 months. We’ve just had a week of record August temperatures, and very few people in the UK have air conditioning in their homes.

Climate change seems to be really starting to have measurable day-to-day affects.

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I think it’s weird that all articles by scientists seem to say we should be worried about an average increase of 0.5C, which seems fine.

But what is really happening is these ridiculous weather patterns becoming so much more common the last few years that it’s noticeable to pretty much anyone.

0.5c only seems fine because they never contextualize that with the standard deviation. An average increase in temperature across the whole world, for a whole year can mean huge localized spikes in variation, or it can mean everywhere is a little warmer. Unfortunately for us, earths climate is ludicrously nonlinear, so we are in for the former, rather than the latter. Making global heating simple enough to communicate to everyone necessarily means lossy compression, but small numbers like that really don’t convey the risks at all.

It was around 35C here (London) for a week straight! I can't remember anything like this before. As you say, our flat has no air con and it was pretty difficult trying to work and sleep in that heat.

To work maybe a fan blowing air from inside towards an open window with you in between is enough. I'm using that in Italy with similar temperatures this month. Don't let direct sunlight get in or it will become too hot and monitor the temperature of your hardware.

However my memories is that UK houses are built for a colder climate than even the north of Italy (which in winter is colder than London) so you might need an AC anyway. I'm using one in the night to sleep with closed windows (city noise outside and darkness.)

Here in Seattle we’ve had an exceedingly mild summer. Anecdotes work in both directions.

MILD SUMMER?

We've been breaking records...

And we don't have AC either really

What records? We’ve only had a few hot days all summer.

https://twitter.com/NWSSeattle

So your weather has been unusual as well? Would you say that this might be reminiscent of a changing climate? The anecdotal accounts of weird climate changes in many locations are really stacking up at this point. Together with the scientific data it is looking like all the changing climate is due to climate change.

Seattle usually has a mild summer. And a mild winter. It's overall just a mild climate all the time.

Today is hot. There was a hot day in July. Rest of the summer so far has been pretty mild.

You mean other than today at 97F / 36C. Brutal.

No, climate change works in both directions. It causes extremes in both directions. Source: I have a PhD in Oceanography with focus on climate modeling

I seem remember hearing this over a decade and a half ago too. I've been confused and frustrated how the message ever got lost.

So, you agree that anecdotes are worthless? I don’t understand your comment.

I think OP meant those anecdotes are both examples of climate change. Causing extreme wildness and extreme craziness elsewhere

climate change just causes bad weather. So when the weather is bad you can just say - "That's climate change for you."

Some people complain about this, me, I think about the poor bastards in the past who had no response at all and I think, "eh, it's an ill wind indeed that blows no good."

Past Wednesday, while Skyping with my parents in Europe, I told them that this year's Bay Area summer had been unusually mild so far.

2 days later and we had the start of a record breaking heat wave.

Coupled with the ludicrous rain storms we’ve been having there is clearly something going on. 36deg one day and then inches of rain the next and 18deg!!!

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