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Land Surface Temperatures and Plant Productivity of Europe: 1982-1999
Reference
Julien, Y., Sobrino, J.A. and Verhoef, W. 2006. Changes in land surface temperatures and NDVI values over Europe between 1982 and 1999. Remote Sensing of Environment 103: 43-55.

What was done
The authors "used land surface temperature (LST) algorithms and NDVI [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index] values to estimate changes in vegetation in the European continent between 1982 and 1999 from the Pathfinder AVHRR [Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer] Land (PAL) dataset."

What was learned
Julien et al. report that arid and semi-arid areas (Northern Africa, Southern Spain and the Middle East) have seen their mean LST increase and NDVI decrease, while temperate areas (Western and Central Europe) have suffered a slight decrease in LST but a more substantial increase in NDVI, especially in Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Belarus, where NDVI values have increased by more than 0.07. In addition, parts of continental and Northern Europe have experienced either slight increases or decreases in NDVI while LST values have decreased.

What it means
Considering the results in total, the Dutch and Spanish researchers conclude that, over the last two decades of the 20th century, "Europe as a whole has a tendency to greening," and much of it is "seeing an increase in its wood land proportion."

Within the context of today's obsession over the ongoing rise in the air's CO2 content and the many environmental catastrophes it has been predicted to produce, this observation is rather remarkable, in view of the fact that the world's climate alarmists claim the CO2-induced global warming of the last two decades of the 20th century was unprecedented over the last two millennia, and that this phenomenon is claimed to be the greatest threat ever to be faced by the planet (worse, even, than nuclear warfare and global terrorism).

Apparently the climate and vegetation of Europe have not been informed that their recent actions are not politically correct!

Reviewed 27 September 2006