Record Hottest Year May Be 2014

This year is expected to be the hottest, or at least one of the hottest, on record, based on average global temperatures, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced last week. Record-high global sea surface temperatures, which are likely to stay above normal until the end of 2014, are largely to blame, WMO says. The world’s oceans absorb nearly all of the extra heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases emitted from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, the organization points out. This year is expected to beat out other years that clocked out with warmest recorded average global temperatures: 2010, 2005, and 1998. WMO points out, however, that the differences in ranking of these years is a matter of a few hundredths of a degree Celsius. If 2014 does top the list, it will mean that 14 of the 15 warmest years on record will have occurred in the 21st century, says WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “There is no standstill in global warming,” he adds.