Original article (in Slovenian) was published on 19/8/2024; Authors: Manca Vertačnik
Climatologist Gregor Vertačnik points out that the world’s atmosphere has changed faster in recent decades than it did between 1,000 and 1,000,000 years ago, so the probability that this is the result of random natural variability is practically zero.
On 28 July, Mel Kovic, a newly ordained priest at the Diocese of Koper, said in an interview on TV Slovenija that the period of 150 or 200 years since experts have been monitoring the weather more closely is too short to say that “now it’s all man’s fault”.
He said that in 2022, during the great drought that also affected Slovenia, “hunger stones” were discovered along German and Austrian rivers. In a September 2020 paper published in the non-profit international scientific journal Climate of the Past, researchers from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute explained that the “hunger stones”, which are carved with the marks of drought years, are used to represent dry periods.
“So there have been low river levels and similar phenomena in the past,” Kovic concluded.
Gregor Vertačnik, a climatologist at the Slovenian Environment Agency, explained to Razkrinkavanje.si that experts have been monitoring the weather in various parts of the world with measuring devices such as thermometers, rain gauges and barometers since the 18th or 19th century. Since the second half of the 19th century, sufficient measurements have thus been available to make a satisfactory assessment of the state of the climate at the global level and in individual regions.
“Humans have significantly influenced the climate system, particularly in recent decades, but notably since at least the 19th century, through emissions of various gases and aerosols – solids or liquids suspended in the air or in gases – and land-use change.”
The climatologist cited the speed and effects of climate change as further evidence that humans are responsible for climate change. The world’s atmosphere has changed extremely rapidly in recent decades compared to the last few thousand to one million years, so the probability of random natural variability is practically zero, he noted.
A report on changes in global average temperature in 2023, published in January by Berkeley Earth, a Californian non-profit research organisation, shows that 2023 was the warmest year on Earth since 1850. The long-term upward trend in temperatures is mainly due to human-induced global warming, they pointed out.
The Climate Analysis and Services Division of the Slovenian Environment Agency’s Meteorology, Hydrology and Oceanography Office explained to Razkrinkavanje.si in June that human impact on global warming is “a decisive and major factor”.
According to them, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased the most in the last 150 years, by more than 50% compared to before the Industrial Revolution.
Žiga Zaplotnik, who teaches dynamic meteorology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana confirmed to Razkrinkavanje.si in January last year that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is solely the fault of humans.
As we reported last October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also concluded in its March 2023 report that human activities have undoubtedly contributed to the warming of the atmosphere, oceans and land. Similarly, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that, while natural processes always influence the Earth’s climate, they can only explain “climate change prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century”.
We have shared our findings with Mel Kovic. We will publish his response when we receive it.
Mel Kovic’s claim that the 150 or 200 years that experts have been monitoring the weather closely is entirely too short to say “it’s all man’s fault now” is not true.
