Summary
of 100 Year Time Scale Table
Summarizing Climate & Human Events During the 20th Century
Longer than most human life-spans,
the period of a century offers a wider
perspective of oceanic and atmospheric patterns that influence
climatic variability than the scope of a decade allows. Patterns that
occur between the decadal and centennial (10-100 year) scales include
Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO),
which we explore in Climate Sciences.
As we see in Climate History, the past 100
years have experienced dramatic climate events. An impressive factor during
the 20th Century has been the enormous growth in human population which
has increased from approximately 1.6 billion to over 6 billion. When observing
climate of the 20th Century, it is important to realize that while naturally
occurring climate phenomenas such as NAO and ENSO continue to impact the
dynamics of the system, human activities have become an increasingly important
factor to consider. During the past century, carbon dioxide levels in
the atmosphere has risen from 290 parts per million (ppm) to nearly 370
ppm. The combustion of fossil fuels has been identified as a major factor
in the increase of this important greenhouse gas linked to global warming.
(See A Paleo
Perspective on Global Warming for more).
In Resources,
links and inquiry ideas are presented to further explore what can (and
has) happened in the course of the past 100 revolutions of Earth around
the sun.
Table
Summarizing Climate & Human Events During the 20th Century
20th
Century &
Human Population (estimated in billions)
Centennial
Timeline
Major Climate Events & Human Impacts
Globally
averaged as the warmest decade in the past 140 years, with 1998
being the warmest year on record.
1992- Hurricane
Andrew causes $25 billion in damages.
1993- Great
Midwest Flood along the Mississippi and its tributaries
caused $18B in damages. Considered to be greater than a 500 year
flood event.
1997-98- El
Niño causes $25-33 billion in damages
Image from FEMA
1980s
4.5
Globally
averaged second warmest decade in the past 140 years.
1982-1983
El Niño severely impacts fishing industry
in Ecuador and Peru, disrupting weather throughout the Pacific Basin.
Estimated $21 billion in damages in 1997.
1970s
3.7
Beginning
~30 year positivie trend in the NAO/AO (North Atlantic Oscillation/Arctic
Oscillation) that strongly contributed to winter/spring warming
over northwestern Europe.
1971- Flooding in Vietnam kills 100,000.
1972- Blizzard in Iran leaves 4000 dead.
1977- The "North Pacific" climatic regime shift making
the end of a ~30 year cool phase of the PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation)
and the beginning of ~21 year warm phase of the PDO; extensive drought
conditions in the western U.S.
1978- New
England Blizzard dumps up to 38 inches of snow in Boston
area.
1960s
3.0
1969-
Hurricane
Camille slams into Mississippi at nearly 200 mph with
storm tides of 25 feet. Heavy rains and flooding followed, with
28 inches of rain in central Virginia.
1950s
2.5
Nov.
1950- Severe storm event produces blizzard and severe winds in 22
states.
Dec. 1952- Great
Smog of London directly kills 4000, with 4000 additional
deaths from related causes. Also see NPR story on the Killer
Fog of '52.
Jan.-Feb. 1953- Storm surges in Europe cause nearly 2000 deaths.
Sept. 1958- Typhoon Vera hits Japan, killing nearly 5,000, leaving
1.5 million homeless.
Droughts in mid-1950s in western US motivate intense period of dam-building
for water storage and delivery. Image from NOAA Photo Library.
1940s
2.3
Global
cooling occurs between mid-1940s and early 1970s.
1941-1942- Chinese Drought causes 3 million to perish due to starvation.
1930s
2.1
1930s-
Dust
Bowl drought impacts 100
million acres of Great Plains.
1931- Flooding along Yangtze River, impacting millions of Chinese.
1935- Florida
Keys Hurricane first of two Category 5 hurricanes to
make landfall in U.S. during 20th Century.
1938- New
England Hurricane rips through southern New England.
Image from NOAA Photo Library
1920s
1.9
1922-
Colorado
River Compact signed allocating water of the Colorado
River Basin to states in the basin and Mexico; estimates of flows
based on data from the wet period prior to the signing of the compact.
1925- Tri-State Tornado claims 695 lives during 3.5 hours, leaving
219-long track through Ohio Valley.
1928- Great
Okeechobee Flood and Hurricane kills up to 3,500.
1910s
1.8
1917-1920-
First case of Spanish Influenza pandemic occurs during winter flu
season in March of 1918 when the first case was reported at Fort
Riley, Kansas. By October, 195,000 dead in U.S. and by 1920, some
20 million dead worldwide. (Gross-Schulman,
1998 )
1900s
1.6
Sept.
1900- Hurricane hits Galveston, Texas with surge wave and resulting
floods killing over 8000. (see "Special
Report on the Galveston Hurricane of September 8, 1900"
by Isaac M. Cline from NOAA).
1907- Famine in China caused 24 million to die of starvation.
Image of aftermath of Galveston, TX from NOAA.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ctl/100.html
Downloaded Friday, 02-Aug-2013 04:44:53 EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, 20-Aug-2008 11:22:39 EDT by
paleo@noaa.gov
Please see the
Paleoclimatology Contact Page or the
NCDC Contact Page if you have questions or comments.