WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the East Coast “could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming” as bitterly cold temperatures are expected to freeze large swaths of the country this holiday weekend.
President Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday, “In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record.” He added: “Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!”
Some were quick to point out that the President did not acknowledge the difference between the weather and the climate. Weather refers to the atmospheric conditions during a shorter period, while climate is a longer view of weather patterns.
The President has repeatedly expressed skepticism about climate change science, calling global warming a “hoax” created by the Chinese to damage American industry.
NASA: What’s the difference between weather and climate?
He announced earlier this year his intention to pull out of the landmark Paris climate agreement aimed at curbing greenhouse gas production. The accord set goals for slowing the rate of climate change by reducing the emissions that contribute to melting Arctic ice, increasing sea levels and changing weather patterns across the globe.
The Government Accountability Office released a report in October that said the US government has spent more than $350 billion over the past decade in response to extreme weather and fire events and estimated that the US would incur far higher costs as the years progress if global emission rates don’t go down.
The report called on Mr. Trump to use the information GAO compiled to help identify risks posed by climate change and “craft appropriate federal responses.”
Additionally, the Climate Science Special Report released in November by the federal government found “no convincing alternative explanation” for the changing climate other than “human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases.”
The U.N.’s weather and climate agency said last month that 2017 was on track to become the hottest year on record aside from those impacted by the El Niño phenomenon, which can contribute to higher temperatures.
Last year set a record for Earth’s average global temperature.
