The Australian paradox

Some people have questioned the previous posts that highlight abnormal cold conditions in various parts of the northern hemisphere, and their obvious contradiction of Global Warming by citing the example of Australia. For some days now certain parts of Australia, most notably Queensland have been subject to devastating forest fires that have claimed hundreds of lives. In addition higher than normal temperatures in those areas (touching 46 centigrade) have inevitably prompted the press to highlight that although Europe freezes, the supposedly intense heat of Australia shows that we are still in the grips of Global Warming.

So does this really confirm that despite anomalies we are on track for a global meltdown?

Financially this may well be so, however when it comes to the environment the evidence is severely lacking.

So just what is going on in Australia? Why is it now so hot?

To answer this we must first explain that in Australia it is now summer, and although temperatures of 46 centigrade are nothing rare in Australia, they are apparently not that common in Queensland.

So why are they happening now? Why did Queensland fry?

As always in questions of this nature answers hinge around a question of wind direction rather than swirling clouds of increased carbon dioxide. At the time of the heatwave winds had been trapped in a revolving pattern around this area so that more cooling winds could not penetrate. However this situation did not last long as cooler, damper, and more rain bearing conditions eventually established more normal conditions.

It is also worth noting that even at the peak of the Queensland heatwave, temperatures in other parts of Australia were very much close to normal, and some areas registered night time lows as far down as nine degrees centigrade. It is also worth noting that at the time of posting Queensland temperatures have also fallen close to normal and plainly show that despite recent events this was a limited and localised event that cannot be explained by shifting clouds of carbon dioxide but by clearly identifiable weather traits that for a short but deadly period brought abnormal heat conditions to Queensland.

It should also be noted that the forest fires that claimed many lives were not the result of the heat alone, but the criminal actions of certain individuals, whose motives and identity have yet to be established. Either way the imprint of carbon dioxide is nowhere present, and is certain to have played no role in this disaster.

But one other point! The supposedly carbon dioxide rich industries that are supposed to have caused this hypothetical carbon dioxide nightmare are nearly all located in the northern hemisphere. This is important because due to the coriolis effect there is little circulation of air between the hemispheres. In fact when nuclear war between the so called super powers was a distinct possibility many people emigrated to the southern hemisphere precisely for this reason, because according to the estimates nuclear fallout would not penetrate there.

All in all we can conclude that although Queensland has suffered a terrible nightmare of heat and human induced fires this cannot be used as evidence to support Global Warming. For example nearby areas experienced conditions that were not out of the ordinary, and prevailing winds locked out cooling winds that would have made a substantial difference.

The image below shows the Queensland fires as viewed from space satellite pics provided by NASA: