November 13, 2013
From VIOLET MENGO in Warsaw, Poland
THE World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says the
year 2013 will be among the top ten warmest years since 1850.
The WMO's provisional annual statement on the Status
of the Global Climate 2013 provides a snapshot of regional and national
temperatures.
It also includes details on precipitation, floods,
droughts, tropical cyclones, ice cover and sea-level.
The statement was released yesterday (Wednesday 13th)
to inform negotiators at the United Nations climate change conference here.
The first nine months, January to September, tied
with 2003 as the seventh warmest such period on record, with a global land and
ocean surface temperature of about 0.48°C (0.86°F) above the 1961-1990 average.
WMO Secretary General Michel Jarraud said
temperatures so far this year are about the same as the average during 2001 to
2010, which was the warmest decade on record.
Mr Jarraud said all of the warmest years have been
since 1998 and this year once again continues the underlying, long-term trend.
He said the coldest years now are warmer than the
hottest years before 1998.
“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,”Mr Jarraud said.
This means that we are committed to a warmer future;
Surface
temperatures are only part of the wider picture of our changing climate.
The secretary general said the impact on water cycle
is already becoming apparent – as manifested by droughts, floods and extreme
precipitation.
The provisional WMO statement confirms that global
sea level reached a new record high.
Sea level has been rising at an average rate of
about 3.2 milimetres per year, with inter-annual variability, since altimeter satellite
measurements began in 1993.
This is close to the observed rate of about 3 mm/yr
of the most recent decade of 2001-2010 and double the observed 20th century
trend of 1.6 mm/yr.
“Sea levels will continue to rise because of melting
ice caps and glaciers. More than 90 percent of the extra heat we are generating
from greenhouse gas is absorbed by the oceans, which will consequently continue
to warm and expand for hundreds of years,” said Mr Jarraud.
Ends
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