First decade of 21st century warmest on record

By Alex Morales Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — This decade is set to be the warmest on record though 2009 won’t be the hottest year, meteorologists said today, lending fuel to both skeptics and supporters of a global warming agreement being negotiated in Copenhagen. Data from the U.K. Met Office and the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization show this year will be the fifth-warmest. The global average temperature was 0.44 degrees Celsius above the 1961 through 1990 average temperature of 14 degrees (57 degrees Fahrenheit), the WMO said in the Danish capital. “This tells us that global warming is still rising,” Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice at the Met Office, said in a telephone interview in Copenhagen, where two weeks of United Nations talks began yesterday to draft a climate deal. “Greenhouse gases continue to increase, and it’s clearly important we reach an agreement in Copenhagen to reduce them.” …

This Decade Is Warmest on Record, 2009 Ranks Fifth (Update1) via The Oil Drum