Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws    Fake-alcohol deaths highlight SE Asia's methanol problem    Netanyahu attacks ICC war crimes arrest warrants    KSrelief provided over $7bln to support children around the world    Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia to expand rail network to over 8,000 km    OMODA&JAECOO: Unstoppable global cumulative sales over 360,000 units    Saudi Arabia sees 73.7% rise in investment licenses in Q3 2024    9 erring body care centers shut in Riyadh    20,000 military emblems confiscated in Riyadh    Al-Samaani visits headquarters of Hague Conference on Private International Law    Al Hilal doesn't need extra support to bring new players, CEO says    Fate of Gaetz ethics report uncertain after congressional panel deadlocked    Indian billionaire Gautam Adani indicted in New York on fraud charges    Rafael Nadal: Farewell to the 'King of Clay'    Indonesia shocks Saudi Arabia with 2-0 victory in AFC Asian Qualifiers    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Yemeni Orchestra's captivating performances in Riyadh, showcasing shared cultural legacies    Future of Ronaldo's Al Nassr contract remains undecided, says Saudi Pro League CEO    GASTAT report: 45.1% of Saudis are overweight    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



2009 set to be fifth warmest year on record
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 08 - 12 - 2009

This year is likely to be the fifth warmest on record and the first decade of this century the hottest since records began, the World Meteorological Organisation said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Speaking on the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, WMO head Michel Jarraud pointed to extreme hotspots this year -- Australia had its third warmest year since record dating began in 1850, "with three exceptional heatwaves".
"I could go on. There was the worst drought in five decades which affected millions of people in China, a poor monsoon season in India causing severe droughts, massive food shortages associated with a big drought in Kenya," he told reporters.
Jarraud also highlighted extreme floods, including one which broke a 90-year record in Burkina Faso. 2009 marked the third lowest summer Arctic sea ice on record, after the two previous years, he added.
Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice at Britain"s MetOffice Hadley Centre, which supplied some of the WMO data, agreed that 2009 is likely to be the fifth warmest year.
"Essentially what"s happened is we"ve gone into an El Nino," she added, referring to a natural weather pattern which drives abnormal warming in the eastern Pacific Ocean and can unleash wider havoc in global weather.
Global warming doubters have pointed to some recent years of cooling, but Mark Maslin, a professor at the University College London Environment Institute said "the weight of scientific evidence for man-made climate change is now irrefutable."
Paal Presterud, a scientist at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, said: "Scientists have not been good enough telling the public we may have periods without warming" amid a long-term trend of higher temperatures.
Presterud, also speaking on the sidelines of the Copenhagen summit, warned that even if countries managed to eliminate all carbon emissions, global temperatures decrease extremely slowly.
RECORD
U.S. scientist Robert Correll said that the world needed aggressive action to avoid 3 metres of sea level rise this century and a 3.5 degree Celsius temperature rise from pre-industrial levels -- far above the 2-degree barrier many have warned should not be breached.
The hottest year on record, 1998, coincided with a powerful El Nino, and a new El Nino developed this year.
"It"s getting warmer and warmer. The warming trend is increasing," Jarraud told Reuters. "It"s difficult to say (when the record will be broken) because of the variability. The first time there will be a strong El Nino the temperature will be greater than before."
The fact that the record for the hottest year has not been broken since 1998 has helped fuel arguments from a small minority of scientists that climate change may not be as severe as feared.
But MetOffice Hadley Centre"s Pope said that temperatures had "climbed slightly" in the past decade. "There hasn"t been a cooling (since the 1998 spike)," she said.
The decade 2000-2009 was 0.4 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average, while the 1990s decade was 0.23 degrees higher, said Pope.


Clic here to read the story from its source.