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[Michaelangelica]

2008 Among 10 Warmest Years On Record
Thursday, 18 December 2008, 1:20 pm
Press Release: United Nations

2008 Among 10 Warmest Years On Record, UN Reports

New York, Dec 17 2008 3:10PM

The year 2008 is likely to rank as the 10th warmest year on record since the beginning of the instrumental climate records in 1850, although the global average temperature was slightly lower than previous years of the 21st century, according to the United Nations meteorological agency.

The combined sea-surface and land-surface air temperature for 2008 is estimated at 0.31 degrees Celsius (C) or 0.56 Fahrenheit (F), above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14C, or 57.2F, while the Arctic Sea ice volume during the melt season was its lowest since satellite measurements began in 1979, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

The average temperature of 2008 was moderated by La Niña, a weather phenomenon that shrinks the warm pool water in the central and western Pacific, which developed in the latter half of 2007.

Climate extremes, including devastating floods, severe and persistent droughts, snowstorms, and heat and cold waves, were recorded in many parts of the world, with above-average temperatures all over Europe and a remarkably cold winter over Eurasia stretching from Turkey to China, causing hundreds of casualties in Afghanistan and China.

In North America, February was a cold month with average daily temperatures in the Midwest of the United States ranging from 4C to 5C below normal in some areas, while in South America a very cold episode due to an early Antarctic air mass saw minimum temperature drop below –6C in May in central Argentina breaking annual absolute minimum records.

Conversely, mean July temperatures were more than 3C above average in large parts of Argentina, Paraguay, southeast Bolivia and southern Brazil, making it the warmest July in the last 50 years for many locations, while November broke historical records with central Argentina, including Buenos Aires city, experiencing its warmest November in 50 years.

In southern Australia, March brought a record heat wave with Adelaide experiencing its longest heat wave on record – 15 consecutive days of maximum temperatures above 35°C. Several heat waves also occurred in south-eastern Europe and the Middle East during April, with a very warm spring also observed in a large part of the rest of Europe and Asia.

Prolonged drought hit most parts of the southeast of North America at the end of July and hindered efforts to contain numerous large wildfires in California, while southern British Columbia in Canada experienced its fifth driest period in 61 years. In Europe, Portugal and Spain had their worst drought winter in decades, while in South America, a large part of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay an intense drought which caused severe damage to agriculture.

Scoop: 2008 Among 10 Warmest Years On Record