Conspiracy theorists who believe global warming is nothing but a myth have been dealt a blow to their logic after the UK’s Meteorological Office declared the 2000-2009 decade as “by the far the warmest on the instrumental record”.
According to its findings, 2009 is on track to be fifth warmest year in the past 160 years continuing a warming trend that has accelerated since the 1970s.
Data has been released from more than 1,500 climate and weather station temperature records which make up around 30 per cent of the HadCRUT record of global land surface temperature records. The Met Office is also negotiating with national services that maintain the stations and hope to publish remaining results soon.
Its figures were backed up by the World Meteorological Organisation which announced that 2009 is on track to become another record warming year. Its preliminary warming trend is 0.44°C above the long-term average of 14°C. Michel Jarraud, the organisation’s secretary general, commented at a press conference in Copenhagen that “in large parts of southern Asia and central Africa it is likely to be the warmest ever on record” and that “we are in a warming trend, we have no doubt about that”.
Its findings are based on climate data from land-based climate and weather stations as well as sea-based ships and buoys, and satellites.
Separate preliminary analysis from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Centre found global surface temperatures in 2009 will be well above the long-term average with the annual temperature for the contiguous United States also expected to be well above average.
Do you have any doubts about global warming? Let us know your opinion on the topic by leaving a comment below.
