Global warming is a complex phenomenon – so much so that some scientists still dispute it’s even happening. One indication of this complexity is the fact that its consequences are distributed quite unevenly, sometimes counter to the global trend, in other instances ahead of it.
A recent report by the Royal Dutch Weather Institute KNMI, quoted in the NRC Handelsblad (dd. 31 July), shows that average temperature in the Netherlands has risen twice as fast as the average global temperature.
As a consequence, average temperatures in some Dutch cities now resemble those of French cities of the previous decade. (No word on how much hotter those have become, though). The cities pair up thus:
- Maastricht = Poitiers
- Utrecht = Lyon
- Flushing (Vlissingen) = Nantes
- Den Helder = Rennes
- Groningen = Paris
Thanks to Nanne Zwagerman for sending in the link to the original newspaper article.
I wonder what the equivalent shifts are for France. Paris is now as warm as Lyon? I’d like to see a map like this for much of the world.
In the US, it’s manifesting in the USDA plant hardiness zone maps.
Comment by Mary — August 4, 2008 @ 3:07 am
A UK newspaper – I believe it was the Independant – had a cover story on global warming with a map similar to this. In their case it was one for the whole of Europe with cities like Berlin in place of Barcelona, Paris in Algiers, etc. Far more effective than a list of figures.
Comment by Ciderite — August 4, 2008 @ 4:17 am
[...] Holland Warms To France (on Strange Maps) [...]
Pingback by Frogsmoke.com - Behind The Gallic Fumes — August 4, 2008 @ 7:08 am
This is the map Ciderite was talking about. It depicts, rather than this decade vs the past one, the near future vs. right now.
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/files/images/070515_climate2071_0.jpg
Comment by Javi — August 4, 2008 @ 7:37 am
It would be ideal to see a corresponding map that displays precipitation levels……..
Is Europe becoming hot and wet, or hot and dry?
Comment by bourgeoisie pig — August 4, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
Yes
Yes
Comment by Sili — August 4, 2008 @ 5:58 pm
No, scientists are not disputing its occurrence.
Comment by BigD145 — August 4, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
I’m a little confused. Global warming is a matter of the average across the entire globe with a 1 degree rise over the last 100 years of measurement. Of what significance are the local samples, which as you note, are distributed unevenly? Drawing conclusions about global warming from these local measurements is a mistake in scale. The Netherlands average temps may drop in the next 10 years even as the global average continues to rise.
Comment by Mike Melendez — August 4, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
Easily the strangest thing in this map for me is seeing Paris spelled with a J (Since I’m not immediately familiar with the cities and their weather)!
Comment by Lurker — August 4, 2008 @ 9:28 pm
Lurker: it’s worse than that. Those crazy Dutch spell Paris with a letter ‘IJ’.
Comment by Colin Reid — August 4, 2008 @ 11:39 pm
France gets the oceanic currents to cool it. The Netherlands: not so much.
Comment by Brandonazz — August 5, 2008 @ 2:27 am
Can you provide me to a link to a scientific journal in which a scientist claims that global warming is not occurring?
I’m guessing not. Because scientists are basically agreed. At this point there are lots of questions as to the exact percentage that’s anthropomorphic, what sorts of remedies are required, and what all of the side effects will be.
But I haven’t seen any serious scientific rebuttals of the idea in a long time. So please stop repeating the propagandist meme that people don’t understand it. They do.
Comment by KW — August 5, 2008 @ 3:38 am
good work
Comment by TrTube — August 5, 2008 @ 6:29 pm
On a similar theme
Warming shifts gardeners’ maps
with accompanying article.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2008-04-23-gardening-map_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Comment by EJ — August 5, 2008 @ 7:34 pm
interesting
Comment by samuel — August 5, 2008 @ 11:41 pm
It gets warmer but those who pay for it most live in the thirld world
Comment by samuel — August 5, 2008 @ 11:43 pm
That’s, uh, that’s a pretty big spike since 2000. I’d like to see their methodology.
Also: What’s dutch for “Someone needs to slap your chloropleth guy”?
Comment by Sir Unimaginative — August 6, 2008 @ 3:47 am
Interglacial.
Comment by Fred Lathan — August 6, 2008 @ 5:11 am
lyon is not located at the right spot at all; it is at least 150 kilometers to the east. It looks like the map on the airlines routes…
Comment by victor — August 6, 2008 @ 11:37 am
We’re experiencing the same in the US – NYC is the new DC; DC is the new North Carolina.
Comment by Ethel-to-Tilly — August 7, 2008 @ 4:16 am
The Netherlands becoming more like France, eh? Maybe they should start growing grapes along with their flowers (and that is only partially a joke).
Comment by Lucario — August 7, 2008 @ 10:24 am
The Dutsh ( and the Brits )used to buy houses by numbers during the last three decades in the french countryside ( which gave a new life to some diying rural areas, but also made the price of housing to explode…); now they’ve got the sunny and warm weather at home…
I think I’m gonna buy a cottage in Sweden, a future summer hot spot…
Comment by lp — August 7, 2008 @ 12:04 pm
The average temperature may be equal, but in France the winter is colder, the summer is hotter, and there is less rain. So in Holland we are stuck with lousy winters and rainy summers.
Comment by Rob from Amersfoort — August 7, 2008 @ 12:23 pm
At the risk of being flamed into oblivion, I’ll play Devil’s Advocate and point to “real scientists” that dispute Global Warming as it is portrayed in the media today. Have at it.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/162241/17_200_Scientists_Dispute_Global_Warming
Comment by Michael Hancock — August 8, 2008 @ 1:30 am
@ Michael Hancock:
yeah… see comment no. 26 there. Apparently most of the people who signed the petition are either counted twice, don’t exist, or are companies.
And the people who came up with the original document are funded by the oil industry.
So… yeah.
Comment by AJ — August 9, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
is there any way to submit a map to this site? if so, it needs to be more obvious. here is a good one that i recently found….
http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/
Comment by far — August 10, 2008 @ 2:09 am
The USA today gardening map surprised me.
I knew that the west coasts, of both the USA and Europe, are protected from cold by the ocean weather but I hadn’t realized how much. I’d estimate that much of the UK is zone 9 now, maybe 8 for the 1990 average, which means that it is no colder than Texas or Florida !
Comment by Andrew — August 10, 2008 @ 8:40 am
Interesting discussion.
Global Warming has indeed occurred in the last 30 years.
But scientists disagree about the cause. Maybe the climate warmed up because of ocean currents and increased solar actvity.
Since 2002 the warming has stopped and temperatures even dropped slightly:
http://icecap.us/images/uploads/MSUCRUvsCO2.jpg
Comment by Hans — August 10, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
I’m French and what annoys me is that the French cities are badly placed on the French map.
Nantes and Rennes are correct, but Lyon should be more on the east, Paris should be a little bit more on the north and Poitiers is very far away from its actual location.
Comment by Joest — August 11, 2008 @ 10:01 am
@29:
Since the map was Dutch, maybe that didn’t care that much or know (CF. Mercer’s “Talking to Americans”)?
Comment by Lurker — August 16, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
The Netherlands becoming more like France, eh? Maybe they should start growing grapes along with their flowers (and that is only partially a joke)
It’s already being done. Wine has always been grown in the southern part of the country, especially in Limburg (the long sticky outy bit at the bottom left), but the grape border has slowly crept up north in the last two-three decades. My dad, who lives in Zeeland (”Nantes” on the map) has been growing grapes for yonks.
Bonus fun fact: there are also several varieties of Dutch whisky these days.
Comment by Martin Wisse — August 17, 2008 @ 9:12 am
One example of scientists not agreeing with the “concensus”.
http://www.petitionproject.org/
Comment by KoS — August 19, 2008 @ 11:50 am
There is no debate amongst mainstream scientists on whether global warming is occurring.
Comment by darth_borehd — August 22, 2008 @ 5:56 am
great work, thanks)
Comment by stilllway — August 30, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
[...] Via StrangeMaps [...]
Pingback by réchauffement climatique planétaire, la hollande en tête | Presse-Citron — September 11, 2008 @ 6:33 am
thank you
Comment by Tony — May 4, 2009 @ 3:47 am
thanks for this map
good
luck
….
Comment by Solomon — May 11, 2009 @ 9:02 am
Vielen Dank
Comment by moon — July 3, 2009 @ 5:21 am