"The rhythm of temperature increases is accelerating,"
WMO Deputy Secretary General Michel Jarraud said. "You
cannot attribute this to any single cause. It's about
a very complex interaction between all the elements that
make up the very complex machine that is the Earth" (Jonathan
Fowler, Associated Press/Yahoo! News, Dec. 17).
According
to the WMO, the global surface temperature this year is
expected to be 0.45 degrees Celsius above the 1961-90
annual average, making 2003 the third-warmest year since
global climatic recordkeeping began in 1861. The warmest
year was 1998 (0.55 degrees Celsius above average), followed
by 2002 (0.48 degrees Celsius above average). The world
had a temperature increase of more than 0.6 degrees Celsius
during the 20th century, the agency said.
High
temperatures were registered this summer in Europe, when
many countries faced heat waves responsible for the deaths
of over 21,000 people. The Northern Hemisphere, especially
Canada, the United States, Russia and China, also registered
high temperatures during the summer.
In
May, temperatures in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh reached
49 degrees Celsius, the WMO said. At least 1,500 people
died in India due to the hot weather. Earlier in the year,
1,900 people died in northern India due to extremely low
temperatures, up to 5 degrees Celsius below normal
The
climate this year also continued to cause droughts in
many countries in Africa, including Botswana, Zimbabwe,
parts of South Africa and Mozambique. However, the WMO
said, above normal precipitation during the rainy season,
mostly caused by tropical cyclones, increased agricultural
production in the area.
According
to the WMO, 16 storms developed this year in the Atlantic
ocean, well above 1944-96 average of 9.8 (WMO release,
Dec. 16).
"By definition, exceptional events are exceptional, so
they don't occur very often," said Jarraud. "But global
warming is likely to lead to more frequent extraordinary
events and greater intensity of these events" (Fowler,
AP/Yahoo! News).
Copyright, National Journal Group, Year
