yeah are we talking 1 degree F here or 10 degrees C or what
Re:Summers Are Getting Hotter
by cbcoutinho on Friday July 28, 2017 @04:36PM
(#14877369)
That depends on whatever the local mean and standard deviation is for the locale you're talking about. Absolute temperatures are meaningless in that context
Absolute temperatures in that context are not so much "meaningless" as actively misleading. Measuring in terms of standard deviation is much more precise and relevant, even if it feels less concrete to those not versed in statistics.
> Temperature categories are determined by the normal distribution, so that a third of temperatures fall in each of the main three categories: hot, cold and normal for 1951 to 1980. Summer temperatures for each subsequent 11-year period are compared to the 1951 to 1980 baseline.
It's not so stupid. It essentially drives home the point that a day that in the 1951-1980 period would be considered "hot", today would fall inside the "normal" range.
That is, your normal distribution of temperatures has shifted a bit to the right.