{"id":7330,"date":"2010-07-28T13:47:53","date_gmt":"2010-07-28T21:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?p=7330"},"modified":"2023-05-25T00:06:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T00:06:08","slug":"annual-climate-report-shows-a-warming-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2010\/07\/28\/annual-climate-report-shows-a-warming-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Climate Report Shows a Warming World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This post also appears at <\/em>Climate Central<\/a>, a content partner of <\/em>Climate Watch.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Alyson Kenward<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Global temperatures continued to increase in 2009, and atmospheric greenhouse gas levels also rose, according to a new \u201cState of the Climate Report<\/a>\u201d from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a> (NOAA). The report, released today as a supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, offers a detailed look at last year\u2019s major weather and climate events, and reviews long-term global climate trends. Overall, it paints a picture of a world that continues its long-term warming trend, albeit with considerable variability from year-to-year.<\/p>\n

The report finds that the earth warmed more last year than in the preceding two years, and reiterates the conclusion that the first decade of the 21st century, 2000-2009, was the warmest decade on record, both at the earth\u2019s surface and in the lower atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The State of the Climate report attributes many of the significant weather and climate events of 2009 to natural variability. For example, the return of El Ni\u00f1o<\/a>, a periodic cycle of ocean warming in the tropical Pacific which influences global weather patterns, helped increase global temperatures. It states that El Ni\u00f1o may account for much of last year\u2019s global increase in temperature compared to 2008 \u2014 about 0.1 degrees Celsius warmer in 2009.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlobal surface temperatures in 2009 saw a return to near-record levels as the cooling in the tropical Pacific associated with the 2007\/08 La Ni\u00f1a event gave way to strengthening El Ni\u00f1o conditions in 2009,\u201d the report states. The average global land and sea surface temperatures for 2009 was about 0.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the average between 1961-1990.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nSurface temperature anomalies, Jan.-Dec. 2009. Click on the image to
\nsee a larger version<\/a>. (Source: NOAA\/NCDC)<\/em><\/p>\n

The abundance of warmer-than-normal water in the Pacific also contributed to the most active storm season there since 1997, while the Atlantic saw a relatively quiet season in 2009.<\/p>\n

While NOAA publishes its State of the Climate reports annually, the 2009 version differs from previous years with its focus on a specific series of climate change indicators, such as global average air and ocean temperatures and ocean heat content. Tracking this group of metrics illustrates the long-term trends that are the hallmarks of climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time, and in a single compelling comparison, the analysis brings together multiple observational records for the range of carefully selected indicators we would expect to change with surface temperatures,\u201d said Dr. Peter Thorne, a co-author of the report and climate scientist at North Carolina State University, in a press release.<\/p>\n

Examples of climate indicators investigated by NOAA:<\/em><\/p>\n