The Change in the Weather: People, Weather and the Science of Climate

The Change in the Weather is actually a very, very, good book on the history of meteorology and climatology, and how it has been used to detect and predict global warming. The main reason the book does not receive 5 stars is because it is now dated - written in 1999; and I'm reviewing it 10 years later - much has happened to forward the certainty of global warming knowledge and effects since then. For example, the author mentions that killer heat waves might happen more frequently, which is fairly prescient, as this was four years before the killer heat wave of Europe occurred. He also mentions that in a warming world, the intensity of weather in general would increase, which would lead to more drought; and also somewhat counter-intuitively, more intense rainfall events as well. Hurricanes would become stronger. He was right about all of this. The best part of the book was reading about how a group of Norwegians completely updated the science of meteorology in the 1920s, and how it has become more and more precise with the aid of supercomputers. A good general book to read about climate change, but unfortunately, just a little out of date.

Those interested in weather, the history of weather (since the formation of the solar system), weather forecasting and the scientific basis for predictions of climate change need go no further than William Stevens' excellent exposition. In clear and entertaining prose Stevens leads the reader step-by-step through the mathematically daunting ropes of the most complex real world phenomenon yet tackled by science. To his credit, despite overwhelming evidence that human activity has already affected the climate (and will, even if we went cold-turkey on fossil fuels tomorrow, warm the planet for a century or more), the author gives due space to the handful of credible doubters in the research community. Stevens balanced presentation makes global warming tangible and at one stroke both less scary and far more troubling than one might assume from the popular press. Polar ice cannot possibly disappear in a couple of decades -- there is too much, it is too cold and too deep. Sea levels wil certainly rise, but slowly. The Bahamas and Marshall Islands won't disappear for at least eight decades, even under worst case scenarios. On the other hand, as climatologist Wally Broeker observes, "The climate system is very volatile. It can do some weird things. It is an angry beast, and we are poking it with sticks." If catastrophic melting and sea change must be gradual, change itself can occur suddenly. Historic climatic shifts have occured with lightning speed -- shifts of 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit in less than a decade. While that kind of jump would not (alone) melt the poles, it could cause catastrophic local changes, from 500 year floods to unrelenting drought. Ocean currents could stall, Europe could plunge into a mini ice age, and diverse plant communities (together with the animal species dependent upon them) could vanish. There is strong fossil evidence that such sudden switching, triggered by changes in atmospheric chemistry, solar radiation, and volcanic disturbances has happened fairly often and to date no one understands why gradual change suddenly flips. Even today we are seeing one strange aspect of warming: deeper snow. A Letterhead wrote lately to say that last week's dump on New Hampshire is the deepest in his memory. Warmer air holds more moisture resulting in more intense rain and snow falls, and longer droughts. The extremes will continue to get more extreme. Stevens' viewpoint is less calamitous that that of Ross Gelbspan (THE HEAT IS ON, Ross Gelbspan, Addison Wesley Publishing Co., 1997), and his explanation of science theory and methodology is better: An excellent resource. Thanks to Gore's efforts, this topic enjoys higher awareness now than when I originally wrote this review in 2001, but education on the subject remains urgent and this volume deserves serious attention.

This survey of people, weather and climate changes examines questions behind today's climatic forces, considering how human actions have contributed to climate and contrasting scientific reality with beliefs about the climate. An involving, revealing account armchair readers will appreciate.

The Change in the Weather was pretty much the book I was looking for. With evidence building about past global climate based upon ice core samples, pollen studies to determine changing fauna over time, soil stratification and so on, I was interested in a survey that described earth's history of climate change. It may be too soon to have a complete picture, I learned, but a great deal is offered here, along with climatic effects on humankind and vice versa. The book has a lot to recommend it as an introduction to a current and important topic.I enjoyed the early sections of the book which present a synopsis of the formation of the earth, early life forms and, ultimately, climate's influence on human development, agriculture, civilization, and modern society. Even if you are familiar with more detailed analysis of these events, as I am, the journey was nice. Along the way, you get a good feel for dramatic historical changes due to climate (and a sense of what could lie ahead).There is a history of the study of meteorology that was new to me that put into perspective how the science of weather evolved. The science here is not detailed, but it is a good survey. We see a bit on the state of computerized weather modeling today as well. Then we get into today's issues on global warming, greenhouse gasses and the possible effects. This is good stuff and the major weather events described from the last decade or two bring back instant recognition and recall, pointing out, I think, how aware of and affected by these events we really are. An interesting point is that global warming could result in higher over night temperatures and higher lows rather than high temperatures. The book ends describing the attempts by world governments to come together to determine responsible actions (a sorry likelihood).Another strength is Stevens's fairly unbiased approach to the later topics of global warming, carbon dioxide emissions, fossil fuels, and so on, which can generate powerful emotions and heated argument. If you are looking for hard science, atmospheric mathematics formulas, and fluid mechanics, this isn't the place. But if you are interested in today's weather on a broader scope, this is very good. While I was reading the book, here in Milwaukee we had back to back days with record high temperatures, and, for the first time recorded, a tornado touched down in Wisconsin in March--right out of the book!