Nice but Worrisome Weather....

Even as today, we turned the clock back to winter time, it felt like summer in Paris. Blue sky, sunshine and 22°C (72°F). Now those of you who know Paris in October may be surprised and indeed, this is really unusual - an average of 6°C (43 °F) to 8°C (46°F) above average. In some parts of the country, it was even more than 10°C (50°F) above normal.

Nice while it lasts but maybe worrisome too...

Now I don't know if the following pieces of information mean anything.... but it makes you wonder:

• In Brighton (Britain) , Oct 27th was the hottest on record.

• According to NOAA, The average global temperature anomaly for combined land and ocean surfaces for September (based on preliminary data) was 1.13°F (0.63°C) above the 1880-2004 long-term mean. This was the warmest September since 1880, the beginning of reliable instrumental records. The second warmest September was in 2003 with an anomaly of 1.02°F (0.57°C) above the mean. Land surface temperatures were highest on record for September with temperatures more than 5°F (2.8°C) above normal across large parts of Asia and North America. Ocean temperatures were third highest on record.

• In the meantime, as you can read here for exemple, the coverage of sea ice in the Arctic has declined for a fourth consecutive year, indicating an alarming long-term trend.The amount of sea ice in 2005 up to September -- the month when it typically reaches its minimum -- is anticipated to be the lowest in a century.

• And in Brazil, a severe drought continues to ravage the world's greatest rainforest as the Amazon is now facing its worst drought in 40 years.

On the other hand, a professor from The University of Reading’s meteorology department says the rumour that a particularly chilly winter is on the way could be true....

Not enough evidence for Global Warming, they say... Right....

Canoes stranded on the Lago do Cristo Reis during one of the worst droughts ever recorded in the Amazon region

Photographer: Daniel Beltra