WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2014 – Last year was the fourth hottest
on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said yesterday.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which released its
own climate data simultaneously, saw small variations that put 2013 tied for
seventh hottest, according to its calculations.
But the government agencies agreed: The new data continues “a
long-term trend of rising global temperatures,” according to a NASA release. With the
exception of 1998, the ten warmest years on record have all occurred since
2000.
“Since the early 70’s, late 1960’s, there’s been a fairly
dramatic warming that continued on throughout the early part of the 21st century,” Thomas Karl, director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, told
reporters during a teleconference.
Though both Karl and NASA counterpart Gavin Schmidt, deputy
director at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, acknowledged the year’s
ranking could change as more data becomes available, they said 2013 is “very
likely among the ten warmest years” ever.
Schmidt predicted this year, 2014, could be even warmer. El
Niño conditions – which occur when warmer-than-normal water in the southern
Pacific Ocean causes worldwide climactic changes – may have began in the second
half of 2013, he said.
El Niño “will help warm 2014 over 2013,” Schmidt said.
“That’s likely to push 2014 or more likely 2015 quite a way up the (heat) rankings.”
#30
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