Last year, the Earth sweltered under the hottest temperatures in modern times for the third year in a row, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday, raising new concerns about the quickening pace of climate change.
Temperatures spiked to new national highs in parts of India, Kuwait and Iran, while sea ice melted faster than ever in the fragile Arctic, said the report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Taking a global average of the land and sea surface temperatures for the entire year, NOAA found the data for “2016 was the highest since record keeping began in 1880”, said the announcement.
The global average temperature last year was 1.69°Fahrenheit (0.94°C) above the 20th century average, and 0.07°F (0.04°C) warmer than in 2015, the last record-setting year, according to NOAA. A separate analysis by the U.S. space agency NASA also found that 2016 was the hottest on record.
The World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland confirmed the U.S. findings, and noted that atmospheric concentrations of both carbon dioxide and methane reached record levels. The main reason for the rise is the burning of fossil fuels like oil and gas, which send carbon dioxide, methane and other pollutants known as greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere and warm the planet.
“Since the start of the 21st century, the annual global temperature record has been broken five times [2005, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016],” said the NOAA.
Another factor has been the Pacific Ocean warming trend of El Nino, which experts say exacerbates the planet’s already rising warmth.
Unusual spikes in temperature were seen in Phalodi, India, which reached 124°F (51°C) on May 19 — marking India’s hottest temperature ever. Dehloran, Iran hit 127°F (53°C) on July 22, a new national record.
Meanwhile, Mitribah, Kuwait hit an all-time high of 129°F (54°C) on July 21, which may be the highest temperature ever recorded in all of Asia,said the NOAA. — AFP
