Warmer Winters - Research That Supports Climate Change Concerns

This report from the China Times as reported in Taiwan Today:

Winter temperatures in Taiwan have increased by an average of 0.44 degrees Celsius per decade over the past 30 years, according to recently released findings of a national study on climate change.

National Taiwan University’s Global Change Research Center and the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research were commissioned by the Environmental Protection Administration to carry out the study.

The results of their research show that summer temperatures in Taiwan rose by an average of 0.11 degrees Celsius per decade between 1979 and 2008, while autumn temperatures increased 0.24 degrees Celsius and spring temperatures jumped 0.30 degrees Celsius every 10 years during the same period.

The report also reveals a significant drop over the past century in the average number of days when temperatures in Taiwan drop to 10 degrees Celsius or lower due to southward moving continental cold fronts. For example, Taipei City averaged about 20 days of below-10-degree weather per year near the start of the 20th century, with the figure dropping to less than 10 days annually in the last few years.

The situation has been most serious in mountainous regions of the island, with the number of days per year with lows of 10 degrees Celsius or less dropping by an average of 18 days per decade over the last 60 years, according to the study.

Academia Sinica’s Chou Chang-hung, head of a National Science Council research project on global climate change’s impact on Taiwan, has witnessed first hand the effects of warming temperatures. In his research, Chou discovered that the season when azaleas on Hehuan Mountain in central Taiwan are in bloom has moved forward by at least a month over the past two or three years. A decade ago, the azaleas on the mountain came into bloom in July or August, but now the flowering season begins as early as May.

Chen Chaur-tzuhn, a forestry professor at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in southern Taiwan, discovered that warming temperatures have also had an impact on trees on the island. His research shows that the tree line of Taiwan fir has been elevating by about 0.46 meters annually in recent years.

Don't complain about the cold folks, its supposed to be winter and Taiwan is a northern hemisphere country quite far from the equator. Now, how are we going to cut those carbon emissions?