World Meteorological Organization Calls Current Decade another Record-Setter

The title of the December 8 press release from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is "2000-2009, The Warmest Decade."  Quoting from the text, "The decade of the 2000s (2000-2009) was warmer than the decade spanning the 1990s (1990-1999), which in turn was warmer than the 1980s (1980-1989)."  The WMO uses global combined sea surface and land surface air temperatures, a conclusively sound methodology.

The WMO announcement also pointed out that "This year above-normal temperatures were recorded in most parts of the continents.  Only North America (United States and Canada) experienced conditions that were cooler than average."  The anecdote regarding North America is important, as some U.S. climate change deniers use it out of context to try to confuse the public into believing that global warming isn't happening.

Earth's climbing surface temperatures are only part of the story.  The world's scientists, including but not limited to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), are continuing to find one disturbing climate change-related development after another.  These include melting glaciers, drying rivers, sea level rise, oceanic acidification and an Arctic region in climate turmoil.

And yet more from the press release: "Climate extremes, including devastating floods, severe droughts, snowstorms, heat waves and cold waves, were recorded in many parts of the world," and "The Arctic sea ice extent during the melt season ranked the third lowest, after the lowest and second-lowest records set in 2007 and 2008, respectively."

The evidence is overwhelming -- humans are heating the planet to an alarming degree and so far there is no end in sight.