Climatologists Predict More Extreme Summer Temperatures in 21st Century

Together with his colleague Claudia Tebaldi from the research group Climate Central, Duffy’s computer models indicated that sweltering summer temperatures – once something of a rarity – can be expected in at least half of our summers before the middle of this century.

The researchers started out by comparing the quarter century between 1975 and 2000 with the preceding 25 years. They say that the recorded data corresponded with the predictions of some 16 global climate models, all of which indicated that high temperatures that were seldom in the earlier period occurred with greater frequency in the latter period in some regions.

Duffy’s team claims the very similar results acquired from observations and computer models indicate that the models are, in fact, able to accurately simulate and predict changes in climate patterns. They also referred to statistical analyses to argue that the rising temperatures are most likely not a result of random variations in weather patterns.