2015 to be hottest year ever, warming to continue in 2016'
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
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Announcement By UN Comes 5 Days Ahead Of Climate Summit
Five days ahead of the Pa ris climate summit, the UN's meteorological agency sought to inject urgency into the negotiations by announcing that global temperatures were set to rise 1° Celsius above the pre-industrial era in 2015, which was on course to be the hottest year on record by a wide margin.World leaders will meet in Paris on November 30 and, over 12 days, try to hammer out a deal to limit global greenhouse gas emissions to a level that restricts worldwide temperature rise to 2°C by the end of the century .
Setting the tone for the crucial talks, the World Meteorological Organisation on Wednesday said 2015 was making history for a number of reasons. “This year is likely to be the hottest year on record, with ocean surface temperatures at the highest level since measurements began.It is probable that the 1°C threshold will be crossed,“ said WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud. “This is all bad news for the planet.“
Based on initial data, WMO said global average sur face temperature for 2015 so far was around 0.73° C above the 1961-1990 average of 14° C.It said this year's high temperatures were due to the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon in tandem with global warming and that the trend would continue next year.
“We are witnessing a po werful El Nino event, which is still gaining in strength.This is influencing weather patterns in many parts of the world and fuelled an exceptionally warm October. The ove rall warming impact of this El Nino is expected to continue into 2016,“ Jarraud said.
The statement comes a week after the US weather agency said October this year had seen record high temperatures for the sixth month in a row.
Global land and ocean surface temperatures this October were 0.98°C above the 20th century average, breaking the record of September 2015 for the highest deviation from average temperatures for that month.
In fact, according to US agency NOAA, every month this year other than January and April has been the hottest on record.
WMO listed a number of extreme weather events during the year, including the major heatwave that affected India in May and June, with average maximum temperatures exceeding 42° C widely and 45° C in some areas.
Setting the tone for the crucial talks, the World Meteorological Organisation on Wednesday said 2015 was making history for a number of reasons. “This year is likely to be the hottest year on record, with ocean surface temperatures at the highest level since measurements began.It is probable that the 1°C threshold will be crossed,“ said WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud. “This is all bad news for the planet.“
Based on initial data, WMO said global average sur face temperature for 2015 so far was around 0.73° C above the 1961-1990 average of 14° C.It said this year's high temperatures were due to the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon in tandem with global warming and that the trend would continue next year.
“We are witnessing a po werful El Nino event, which is still gaining in strength.This is influencing weather patterns in many parts of the world and fuelled an exceptionally warm October. The ove rall warming impact of this El Nino is expected to continue into 2016,“ Jarraud said.
The statement comes a week after the US weather agency said October this year had seen record high temperatures for the sixth month in a row.
Global land and ocean surface temperatures this October were 0.98°C above the 20th century average, breaking the record of September 2015 for the highest deviation from average temperatures for that month.
In fact, according to US agency NOAA, every month this year other than January and April has been the hottest on record.
WMO listed a number of extreme weather events during the year, including the major heatwave that affected India in May and June, with average maximum temperatures exceeding 42° C widely and 45° C in some areas.
