Just as a slight aside I was keen to see the NOAA data for January given Adelaide's record breaking summer of 40 plus degree days and the freezing conditions experienced in Europe and the US.

Turns out while the Global land and sea temperature anomaly was the 4th highest on record the Northern hemisphere returned only its 7th highest (from 135 years of data).

In our hemisphere the combined figure was also the 4th highest but astoundingly the land temperature was the highest ever recorded, a whopping 1.13 degrees above the average.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2014/1

At least I am comforted by the fact that the planet has stopped warming and may well be cooling so these figures are just an interesting, though technically insignificant, random spike.

Whew. Lesser people might be worried.

Leo Lane,

"Poirot’s position is clarified. She is neither dumb nor ignorant, she is dishonest. She projects her low self worth on to the community..."

Lol!

........

JKJ,

Yes, how do you account for the "unprecedented rate of temperature rise"? On a geologic timescale, human emitted CO2 into the atmosphere could be construed as a sudden outgassing - with an equivalent rate of warming.

This from you:

".... Now suppose the globe’s temperatures rose by 3 degrees. Think of all the areas of Eurasia and North America which are now tundra or taiga, which would become arable...."

Hmmm.....notwithstanding that the planet will continue to do as it has always done...little 'ol humans who ,geologically speaking, have been around for the blink of an eye, and who've managed to evolve civilisations in that short time have a fortunate climate niche to thank for that.

Your tundra narrative, brief as it is, has few kinks in it - not the least the prospect of increased CO2 emission and methane release from melting permafrost.

http://www.livescience.com/37359-nasa-carve-thawing-permafrost-gas.html

SR, don't forget the smiley face!
I'm thinking of moving my mob to the Ukraine, somewhere by the sea, to take advantage of JKJ's weather forecast.

I am not sure why Don thought it was worth airing these thoughts. Surely a Government who’s attitude to climate change research is to ignore all the scientists go with its own version of reality was always going to ignore the pronouncements of the Climate Change Authority.

The fact that they have done so should come as no surprise to anyone. The fact that they have ignored suggestions for monetary incentives to reduce carbon emissions in favour of their preferred alternative of planting trees should also be no surprise. Government follows its stated policy shock!

I don’t think anyone in Government has quite worked out how many trees are needed. And planting them is not the only requirement. They have to be cared for to grow and be kept alive – for ever.

Of course, the biggest joke being that the Abbott govt is supposedly going to plant lots of trees through their bogus policy to counteract AGW...

....while simultaneously chopping down lots of trees to keep their masters happy.

""We don't support, as a government and as a Coalition, further lockouts of our forests," Mr Abbott said."

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/no-more-national-parks-as-tony-abbott-pledges-to-support-loggers-as-the-ultimate-conservationists-20140305-345zp.html

Hilarious!

Poirot, I suppose lol signifies a middle aged immature giggle of embarrassment at having no rationale for your unsupportable position in favour of AGW fraud..

Agronomist, our government ignores the fraud backing scientists. It does not ignore the science. As you must be aware, there is no science to back the assertion that human emissions have any effect on climate.

Please enlighten us as to the basis on which you support the AGW fraud.