At the first World Climate Conference in 1979, Robert M. White said the extreme weather of the 1970s was not unusual and happened frequently in the past.
“The disastrous consequences of climatic events of the past decade are well known. No part of the world has been immune. During the late sixties and early seventies the southern border regions of the Sahara desert, the Sahel, succumbed to a five-year drought with famine and death on a continental scale. The year 1972 saw a worldwide epidemic of costly climatic episodes, including drought in the Soviet Union and the occurrence of El Nino off Peru. In 1974, poor monsoons reduced food production in India. In 1975, cold waves in Brazil badly damaged coffee crops. In 1976, drought in Europe caused widespread economic dislocations. In the United States, the recent cold winters forced many industries and s6hools to close.
These events have demonstrated the sensitivity of human welfare and international relations to climatic events. They have demonstrated the fragility of world food production and trade systems and the extent to which income and employment continue to depend on the workings of the natural world. The remarkable aspect of these climatic fluctuations is that they are not unusual. Similar events have occurred frequently in the historical record. What is new, is the realization that vulnerability of human society to climatic events has not disappeared with technological development.”
A CONFERENCE OF EXPERTS ON CLIMATE AND MANKIND GENEVA, FEB 1979
When he died in 2015, the New York Times reported that he “warned of climate change.”
“Robert M. White, a meteorologist who revolutionized the nation’s weather forecasting system, was the first to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and warned of climate change long before it was widely recognized, died on Oct. 14 at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. He was 92.”
Robert M. White, Who Revolutionized Weather Forecasts, Dies at 92 – The New York Times
