A US meteorological agency released this week a study stating that the winter we had this year was the hottest since data exists. Indeed, according to the study done by NOAA : “December 2006 – February 2007 temperatures were above average in Europe, Asia, western Africa, southeastern Brazil, and the northeast half of the United States.”
This year, global average temperature were 0.72°C above the twentieth century average. In France, the winter was 2.1 °C hotter than during a normal one. In Stockholm, the temperature today is +10 °C instead of being -10 °C as it was on the same date last year.
Still according to the study done by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | website) :
“Anomalously warm temperatures covered much of the globe during the first two months of the year. The January-February 2007 year-to-date map of temperature anomalies shows the presence of warmer than average temperatures across almost all land areas.”
To me, this is undoubtedly the ultimate proof that Earth’s climate is getting warmer and warmer. The phenomenon’s rate is so important that it can not be done by the Earth alone.
In January, the Met Office (website), the UK meteorological office, declared that 2007 was due to be the hottest year ever. It seems that they are right. At least, the first months we just lived are going in this sense.
I hope all the data brought by the NOAA will bring sceptical people to sense. I also wish that this phenomenon will drive people worldwide to decrease their energy consumption and demand cleaner energy sources. Energy conservation truly needs to be forward as well as clean energy sources.
The Study written by the NOAA is very interesting and I strongly recommend you to read the Introduction to learn out more.