2012 Temperatures Rank 10th Highest in History
On Jan. 15, 2013, NCDC announced as part of its 2012 Global Climate Report that 2012 was the warmest La Niña year on record. While there are a variety of approaches for defining a La Niña or El Niño year, NCDC's criteria is defined as when the first three months of a calendar year meet the La Niña or El Niño threshold as defined by NOAA Climate Prediction Center's (CPC) Oceanic Niño Index (ONI).
Some of the highlights of the report include 2012 was the 10th warmest year since the beginning of temperature records in 1880. 2012 marked the 36th consecutive year with global temperatures reaching about the 20th century average. The global annual temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.11°F per decade since 1880 and 0.28°F per decade since 1970.
Highlights for the U.S. include that 2012 was the warmest year since national records began in 1895. In Austria, the first half of 2012 was cooler than average, but then the last half of the year was warmer than average. Norway had its 45th warmest year since 1900.
So, how do you feel about these reports? The fact that 2012 experience such warm conditions shows that rising temperatures may soon be the norm each year. Do you feel that we could help battle global warming, or do you think that global warming is inevitable despite any actions we may take to help reduce or prevent it?
Posted by Lindsay Page on Feb 07, 2013