The Hindu Business Line : 2005 is second warmest year on record, says WMO

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season brought an unprecedented 26 named tropical storms that caused devastating losses across Central America, the Caribbean and the US. Fourteen of the named storms were hurricanes.

Thiruvananthapuram , Dec. 27

YEAR 2005 is currently the second warmest year on record and is likely to be among the warmest four years in the temperature record since 1861, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

Official figures will not be released until February, the WMO said. The year 1998 remains the warmest year ever, with optimum averaged surface temperatures averaging +0.54 deg C above the same 30-year mean.

The global mean surface temperature in 2005 is currently estimated to be +0.48 deg C above the 1961-1990 annual average (14 deg C), according to the records maintained by WMO.

Globally, October 2005 was the warmest October on record, surpassing that of last year and June 2005 was the warmest June, surpassing that of 1998. Areas of significant warmth were widespread with large areas of Africa, Australia, Brazil, China and the US showing significantly above-average temperatures.

Much of the North Atlantic and tropical Indian Ocean were also significantly warm, along with the Gulf of Alaska. Sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic in 2005 are likely to be the warmest on record.

The large-scale climate phenomenon El Nino can contribute to above-average warmth, as was the case with extremely strong 1997/1998 episode. But the weak El Nino conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that developed in 2004, faded quickly to near-neutral conditions by March 2005 and little impact on global temperatures ensued.

Since the start of the 20th century, the global average surface temperature has risen between 0.6 deg C and 0.7 deg C. But this rise has not been continuous. Since 1976, the global average temperature has risen sharply, at 0.18 deg C per decade. In the northern and southern hemispheres, the 1990s were the warmest decade with an average of 0.38 deg C and 0.23 deg C above the 30-year mean, respectively.

In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, extremely harsh heat waves in May brought maximum temperatures of between 45 deg C and 50 deg C. The delayed southwest monsoon rains allowed the heat wave to persist into June, claiming at least 400 lives in India.

On average, 10 named storms develop in the Atlantic Basin, six of which are hurricanes. The 2005 hurricane season broke the previous record for the most named storms (21 storms in 1933) and for the most hurricanes (12 in 1969). Since 1995, there has been a marked increase in the annual number of tropical storms in the Atlantic Basin, due to a cyclic pattern.

Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest hurricane to affect the US. The storm killed at least 1,300 people, mostly in the southern states of Louisiana and Mississippi and produced widespread devastation along the central US Gulf coast. Hurricane Wilma was the most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.

More Stories on : Environment | Climate & Weather

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Private airlines told to train pilots to fly in foggy conditions — Fallout of delays, confusion at Delhi airport

Finance Ministry does not favour extending Clause 49 deadline — Wants to stick by SEBI's stance

2005 is second warmest year on record, says WMO

Insurers are once bitten, twice shy

Infrastructure growth down to 3 pc in Nov — Crude oil, steel, coal, electricity fare badly

UTI MF to launch three offshore funds next year

Reliance demerger catches fund managers, traders on wrong foot

As Nigerian acquisition plans fizzle out — ONGC not to offload equity stake in IOC, GAIL now

Changing lifestyles push liquor sales

Net subscriber base tops 6-m mark

Sensex rebounds on `value-picks'

YES Bank IPO: NSDL cries foul over blame pinned on it — Says regulation is SEBI's job