Between 2001 and 2012, thehigher average temperaturesof which there is evidence and, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), this trend has continued during the year that is about to end.
The provisional version of the Declaration on the State of the Climate produced annually by WMO also highlights the record achieved in the Arctic sea melt during 2012, as well asextreme weather eventsthat have been recorded in different parts of the world. “The extent of sea ice in the Arctic reached a new low. The alarming rate at which the thaw is taking place in that area this year has highlighted the profound changes that are taking place in the oceans and in the biosphere.” Michel Jarraud, WMO Secretary General, said.
The year started with a cooling episode due to the La Niña phenomenon, which is associated with the decrease in world temperatures. These natural episodes occur when strong trade winds from the East produce adrop in surface temperature of equatorial waters. However, when this phenomenon ended in April 2012, the warming trend returned. “The natural variability of the climate, caused by phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña, influences temperatures and rainfall on an annual seasonal scale,” explained Jarraud. “However, it does not alter the long-term trend of rising temperatures, which has its origin in climate change resulting from human activities.” According to the report, between January and October 2012 was the ninth warmest period since measurements began, in 1850. World temperatures in this period, both on the surface of the ocean and on the Earthwere about 0.45 ° C higher than the meanof 14.2 ° C corresponding to the period from 1961 to 1990.
The publication of the provisional Declaration has coincided with the celebration of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is being held these days in Doha (Qatar), and in which agreements are expected to be reached on the extension of the Kyoto Protocol , which ends on December 31 of this year.
