Francois Engelbrecht, distinguished professor in climatology at the Global Change Institute at Wits University, gave the Dispatch some possible explanations for this.
“The reports of below-normal annual average temperatures at locations such as East London and Port Alfred are surprising given that almost the entire country experienced annual average temperatures much warmer than the long-term average, with all-time records being broken in the west,” Engelbrecht said.
One possible explanation, he said, was that the AccuWeather data was incorrect or based on a short-term reference period. But he believed the observations were probably correct.
Another explanation was that the coastal areas of the Eastern Cape experienced above-normal cloud cover which reduced surface temperatures. “It should be noted that low-level clouds can bring below-normal temperatures to the region without causing rainfall,” he said.
A third, and possibly most likely, explanation according to Engelbrecht, is that these regions experienced anomalously strong westerly winds during the summer months of 2019.
“Westerly winds that blow in summer typically bring cooler air from the Southern or Atlantic Oceans to the coastal areas of the Eastern Cape, resulting in below-normal surface temperatures. However, such winds in summer typically do not bring significant falls of rain,” he said.
One thing is clear to Engelbrecht — the world undeniably is in the midst of a climate crisis.
“As long as carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere continue to increase, we can expect further global warming to occur. On the average, the planet is today about 1.1°C warmer than it is supposed to be (the so-called pre-industrial temperature).
“The best we can hope for, is to limit global warming to about 1.5°C during the 21st century. That will require a tremendous climate change mitigation effort over the next three decades. The basic guideline is that we will have to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 45% by 2030, and we need to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”
He said temperatures in Southern Africa were rising faster than the global average rate of temperature increase. Over the interior regions of Southern Africa, temperatures are rising at about twice the global rate.
The climate crisis was discussed extensively in Davos, Switzerland this week.
A global survey of public opinion published on Tuesday by the World Economic Forum finds that the world overwhelmingly blames global warming on human activity, with some regions slightly less trusting of climate science in 2020.
The global public-opinion poll, prepared in collaboration with SAP and Qualtrics, surveyed more than 10,500 people in 30 countries.
The poll, published in two parts, found that while more than half of respondents reportedly trust climate science, those in India are the most trusting. Some 86% said they trusted scientists “a great deal” or “a lot”, followed by Bangladesh (78%) and Pakistan (70%). China and Turkey (both 69%) complete the top five.
By region, almost a fifth of North American adults expressed “little” (12%) or “no” (6%) trust in climate science, compared to South Asia, expressing “little” trust (4%), and “no” trust (2%).
East London recorded below-average temperature in 2019, but here's why
Eighty-three percent of global cities were warmer than their historic average in 2019.
That was also the case for most South African cities, although, interestingly, East London was below its historic average, according to data collected by commercial weather forecasting service AccuWeather.
Earlier this month, scientists from several international research institutions announced that 2019 was the second hottest year on record, coming in just behind 2016.
In an interactive feature published on its website last week, the New York Times allowed users to type in the name of their city to view whether the temperature was above or below the historic average in 2019. Answers are based on AccuWeather data for 3,500 cities around the world.
The findings make for interesting reading.
Johannesburg comes in at 1.4ºC warmer, as does Cape Town at 2.3°C. Durban was 0.8°C and Port Elizabeth 0.1°C above average.
East London, however, recorded -1.9°C below normal.
SA village breaks weather record with temperatures soaring to 54°C - or not?
Francois Engelbrecht, distinguished professor in climatology at the Global Change Institute at Wits University, gave the Dispatch some possible explanations for this.
“The reports of below-normal annual average temperatures at locations such as East London and Port Alfred are surprising given that almost the entire country experienced annual average temperatures much warmer than the long-term average, with all-time records being broken in the west,” Engelbrecht said.
One possible explanation, he said, was that the AccuWeather data was incorrect or based on a short-term reference period. But he believed the observations were probably correct.
Another explanation was that the coastal areas of the Eastern Cape experienced above-normal cloud cover which reduced surface temperatures. “It should be noted that low-level clouds can bring below-normal temperatures to the region without causing rainfall,” he said.
A third, and possibly most likely, explanation according to Engelbrecht, is that these regions experienced anomalously strong westerly winds during the summer months of 2019.
“Westerly winds that blow in summer typically bring cooler air from the Southern or Atlantic Oceans to the coastal areas of the Eastern Cape, resulting in below-normal surface temperatures. However, such winds in summer typically do not bring significant falls of rain,” he said.
One thing is clear to Engelbrecht — the world undeniably is in the midst of a climate crisis.
“As long as carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere continue to increase, we can expect further global warming to occur. On the average, the planet is today about 1.1°C warmer than it is supposed to be (the so-called pre-industrial temperature).
“The best we can hope for, is to limit global warming to about 1.5°C during the 21st century. That will require a tremendous climate change mitigation effort over the next three decades. The basic guideline is that we will have to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 45% by 2030, and we need to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”
He said temperatures in Southern Africa were rising faster than the global average rate of temperature increase. Over the interior regions of Southern Africa, temperatures are rising at about twice the global rate.
The climate crisis was discussed extensively in Davos, Switzerland this week.
A global survey of public opinion published on Tuesday by the World Economic Forum finds that the world overwhelmingly blames global warming on human activity, with some regions slightly less trusting of climate science in 2020.
The global public-opinion poll, prepared in collaboration with SAP and Qualtrics, surveyed more than 10,500 people in 30 countries.
The poll, published in two parts, found that while more than half of respondents reportedly trust climate science, those in India are the most trusting. Some 86% said they trusted scientists “a great deal” or “a lot”, followed by Bangladesh (78%) and Pakistan (70%). China and Turkey (both 69%) complete the top five.
By region, almost a fifth of North American adults expressed “little” (12%) or “no” (6%) trust in climate science, compared to South Asia, expressing “little” trust (4%), and “no” trust (2%).
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