New scientific studies suggest a trend that may have started in the late 1990s. The earth may be cooling.

The Hadley Centre for Climate Change, part of the UK Met Office, tracks global temperature and shows a big drop in global temperature anomalies since January 2007. Based on the HadCRUT3 system of observed temperatures, global surface temperature anomalies have been trending down since 2001. January 2008 had the coldest anomaly since 1995.

Temperature anomaly is the difference between observed temperature and the average temperature for the same time over a period of years.

Meteorologist Anthony Watts compiled the HadCRUT3 temperature grids to make this intriguing plot of trends since 1988. Note the large drop in global temperature anomaly over the past year

Closer to home, Dr John Christy of the University of Alabama, Huntsville, uses NASA data to track global temperatures. His latest report suggests that compared to seasonal norms, January 2008 was the coldest month since July 2006 and the coldest January since 2000.

Anecdotal evidence of the cooling trend is noted by record season snowfall totals and low temperatures over large portions of the northern Hemisphere.  Please visit the NOAA Climate website for more information.

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