The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-06-07
Today S Science
BY DAVID DIETZ-

rs the United States growing hotter? This is meant
Il to be purely scientific question, referring only
to the subject of meteorology and not to politics.
nomicS sociology, night clubs, radio broadcaStS or
bathing suits.
According to World Weather Records compiIa-
ton OF temperature, pressure and precipitation
ords just issued by the Smithsonian Institution
every situation in the United States for which rec
ords were obtainable showed a higher average tenn
perature for the decade from 1921 to 1880 than it
did in its previous history.
World Weather Records is edited by H. Helm
Clayton. Some of the comparative figures which he
gives follows:
Chicago-Mean temperature for decade 1921
1890; 5O7 degrees Mean for fifty years: 5O2,
Cincinnati-Mean for decade, SOL Mean for
fifty years, 55.4.
Denver-Mean for decade, 5O2 Mean for fifty
years, s499
Ell Paso-Mean for decade, 638 Mean for forty
four years, 63.2.
Nashville-Mean for decade, 5s.6 Mean for fifty
years, 1913.
New York-Mean for decade, 522 Mean for 100
years, 518
Phoenix, Ariz.-Mean for decade, 7O3 Mean for
fifty years, 692
San Diego, CaL-Mean for decade, 615 Mean
for eighty years, 606
San FancSco-Mean for decade $685. Mean for
Seventy-f1ve years. SIS.
Washington D. C.-Mean for decade, $50 Mean
for 100 years, $40.
Il UROPE appears also to have been slightly warm
but the increase in temperature there is not large
or so consistent. Some European stations show
slight decrease in temperature for the decade
Mr. Clayton points out that care must be taken
not to mSlnterpret the American figures. They do
not mean that at any particular station where the
observations were made it was continuously warmer
during the decade than in the past
At some OF them, there were undoubtedly cold
spells which set new records for low temperatures
They mean that when all the weather for the
decade Is averaged together-the springs, summers,
winters and autumnS of ten years-they give high
average figure than the average for the lifetime
of the station
The figures constitute what the scientists call
cumulative means" They would seem to indicate
some sort of long periodc in the weather of the
United States.
This is subject which is not vet completely
understood and about which scientists disagree on
many points.
One has to be extremely careful about coming to
conclusions about the weather and its relation to
other phenomena in the universe For example dur
ing the present pronounced drought in the midwest
an extremely large spot appeared on the sun At
once many persons began to wonder whether the two
were connected.
But at the same time that the sun spot appeared
there were two severe cloudbrss in Palestine each
resulting in large number of fatalities Undoubt-
edly, there were persons in Palestine who wondered
whether there was some connection between the sun
spot and the cloudbursts.
OBVIOUSLY. the sun is the primary source of
~ the earths weather since we are dependent
upon the sun for our supply of heat.
Were the sun to give out the temperature would
become so low within few days that all plant and
animal life would be frozen. Before many days the
would be frozen solid, and soon after the
atmosphere itself would freeze forming first LAYER
of liquid air upon the surface of the earth and
finally layer of solid air.