The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its Statement on the Status of the Global Climate for 2012, which indicates that 2012 is among the ten previous years as one of the warmest on record.
This is the ninth warmest year since records began in 1850 and the 27th consecutive year that global land and ocean temperatures were above the 1961–1990 average, with the years 2001–2012 all among the top 13 warmest years on record.
2 May 2013: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its Statement on the Status of the Global Climate for 2012, which indicates that 2012 is among the ten previous years as one of the warmest on record. This is the ninth warmest year since records began in 1850 and the 27th consecutive year that global land and ocean temperatures were above the 1961–1990 average, with the years 2001–2012 all among the top 13 warmest years on record.
The WMO’s annual statements gather the year’s key climate events, and include information about temperatures, precipitation, extreme events, tropical cyclones and sea ice extent. This year’s statement provides in-depth analysis of regional trends to provide more information to support adaptation to climate change, is the most detailed to date, and will inform discussions at the WMO’s Executive Council meeting, to be held from 15-23 May 2013.
Key findings in the statement include: above-average temperatures during 2012 across most of the globe’s land surface areas; precipitation slightly above the 1961-1990 long-term average; below average snow cover extent in North America and above average in Eurasia; record low Arctic sea ice extent and increased Antarctic sea ice extent; and severe extreme events. The statement underscores that climate change is aggravating naturally-occurring climate variability and has become a source of uncertainty for climate-sensitive economic sectors, such as agriculture and energy. [Publication: WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate 2012] [WMO Press Release]