2012 was the 9th warmest year on record: WMO

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: UN’s weather agency has released its annual report, in which 2012 has been declared as the ninth-warmest year since record-keeping began in 1850. The World Meteorological Organization says last year joined the ten previous years as one of the warmest— the hottest being 2010, when the average temperature was 58.2 degrees F (14.6 degrees C)-- despite the cooling effect of La Niña. The U.N.`s weather agency says this marks the 27th year in a row the global average temperature — 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14.45 degrees Celsius) in 2012 — surpassed the 1961-1990 average. WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud says "sustained warming of the lower atmosphere is a worrisome sign" of global warming despite La Nina, which is the flip side of El Nino and generally cools the oceans globally. “The year 2012 saw many other extremes as well, such as droughts and tropical cyclones. Natural climate variability has always resulted in such extremes, but the physical characteristics of extreme weather and climate events are being increasingly shaped by climate change,” he added. (With Agency inputs)