By Clint Thompson
Last fall was the warmest on record for the United States. November was the second warmest on record for earth.
More temperature records are likely to be set in the near future, believes Pam Knox, University of Georgia Extension agricultural climatologist.
“It’s not surprising that we’ve been setting records for warm temperatures because the temperature trends are accelerating upwards. We’re likely to see more of these records in the coming years,” Knox said. “As the trend goes on, we’re more likely to set warm records than we are cold records. Nobody’s talking about setting any cold records for any month lately.”
Knox noted in her UGA Extension Ag Climatology Blog that this past fall was the warmest since records began to be taken in 1895. She also believes 2024 will be the warmest year on record due to the “string of warmer than normal months that have occurred.”
“It’s got mixed impacts because it allowed us to have a longer than usual growing season. We didn’t really get frost across the southern part of Georgia until late in the month. That gave farmers a little extra time to get crops in if they had any crops left after the hurricanes,” Knox said.
“Having a longer season means those pests and diseases hang around longer. There’s more likely going to be a problem next year if they overwinter. Fortunately, we did get down pretty cold and it killed those off, but there’s probably enough places in the state where there’s enough shelter for some of those things to survive.
“Next spring we’ll have to be watching carefully for those pests and diseases to occur earlier in the season. Farmers will have to treat that, which is another expense.”