This year is among the warmest years on record, according to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization.
The temperature of 2013 is said to be among the top ten warmest since modern records began in 1850.
“Temperatures so far this year are about the same as the average during 2001 to 2010, which was the warmest decade on record. All of the warmest years have been since 1998 and this year once again continues the underlying long-term trend,” said W.M.O. Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.
For the first nine months, the current year tied with 2003 as the seventh warmest period on record, with global land and ocean surface temperature of around 0.48 degrees Celsius above the 1961 to 1990 average.
“Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases reached new highs in 2012, and we expect them to reach unprecedented levels yet again in 2013. This means that we are committed to a warmer future,” Mr. Jarraudsaid.
TheW.M.O. provisional annual statement on the Status of the Global Climate 2013 also noted that global sea level has been rising at an average rate of about 3.2 millimeters per year. This is close to the rate of about 3 mm/yr of the decade of 2001 to 2010, and double the observed 20th century trend of 1.6 mm/yr.
With one of the most powerful typhoon passing through the Philippines in the backdrop last weekend, Mr. Jarraud noted that sea level rise is making coastal populations more vulnerable when disaster strikes. He highlighted that though the relationship between climate change and the frequency of tropical cyclones is a matter of much research, it is expected that their impact will be more intense. – EcoSeed Staff
