Past winter was warmest on record
Past winter was warmest on record
Rhett Butler, mongabay.com
March 16, 2007
This winter was the warmest on record according to the U.S. government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA also reported that precipitation was above average in much of the United States.
NOAA said that winter temperature for the contiguous United States was 33.6 degrees F (0.9 degrees C), about 0.6 degrees above the 20th century average. The agency noted that the warmer-than-average winter temperatures helped reduce residential energy bills for the country.
NOAA said that winter temperatures were above average but below records set in 2003 and 2001.
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Globally the winter was the all-time warmest since records began in 1880, about 1.30 degrees F (0.72 degrees C) above the 20th century mean. El Niño conditions contributed to the season’s record warmth, though NOAA noted that it appears La Niña, an oceanic-atmospheric phenomenon that has an overall cooling impact, began last month.
NOAA reported that global surface temperatures have increased at 0.11 degrees F (0.06 degrees C) per decade during the past century, but that the rate of increase has tripled since 1976 to 0.32 degrees F (0.18 degrees C) per decade. Most of the warming has occurred in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
Scientists say increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion and deforestation are helping warm the planet.
Related article
2006 was fifth warmest year on record. Last week NASA scientists announced that 2006 was the fifth-warmest year in the past century, after 2005, 1998, 2002, and 2003 (in descending order by warmest year).