Rising temperatures and global warming has led to 2013 being named one of the top ten warmest years on record, the World Meteorological Organization declared recently.
This year is the seventh warmest since records began in 1850 and rising sea levels caused by climate change are aggravating the impact of storms such as Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said in a press statement.
In climate change talks with almost 200 representatives from nations around the world, WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said the first nine months of 2013 tied with the first nine months of 2003 with average global land and ocean surface temperature of over 48 degrees Celsius.
"All of the warmest years have been since 1998, and this year once again continues the underlying, long-term trend," Jarraud said today in a statement. "The coldest years now are warmer than the hottest years before 1998."
The level of carbon dioxide hit an all time high in 2012 and is expected to rise even further, predicting warmer climatic.
The disastrous aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan cast a shadow on the United Nations climate change talks that began on Nov 11 in Warsaw, Poland. Although the official death toll is at 2,375, Philippine authorities fear over 10,000 died from the destructive force of Typhoon Haiyan.
Aside from Typhoon Haiyan, other extreme weather disturbances include the record-breaking heat waves in Australia, leading climate scientists to suspect recent New South Wales bushfires were enhanced by climate change. The floods experienced in Sudan to Europe were also believed to be aggravated by climate change and rising global temperatures, according to the WMO.
Last year, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported 2012 to be either the 8th or 9th warmest years on record.
"Many of the events that made 2012 such an interesting year are part of the long-term trends we see in a changing and varying climate - carbon levels are climbing, sea levels are rising, Arctic sea ice is melting, and our planet as a whole is becoming a warmer place," Acting NOAA Administrator Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D, said at that time.
