Hottest decade world’s ever seen
THE world has experienced its warmest decade, with 2016 and 2019 the hottest years on record.
The temperature in the UK hit 101.66F (38.7C) last July 25 – the highest ever recorded.
An unconfirmed record was set for a December day – 65.66F (18.7C) in the Scottish Highlands.
The Met Office – working with the University of East Anglia and the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science – confirmed the 2010s were the warmest since records began 170 years ago.
‘Our collective global temperature figures agree that 2019 joins the other years from 2015 as the five warmest years on record,’ said Dr Colin Morice of the Met Office Hadley Centre.
‘Each decade from the 1980s has been successively warmer than all the decades that came before.’
Petteri Taalas, of the World Meteorological Association, said 2020 has started out where 2019 left off – with extreme conditions.
He added: ‘Australia had its hottest, driest year on record in 2019, setting the scene for the bushfires which were so devastating to people and property, wildlife, ecosystems and the environment.
‘Unfortunately, we expect to see much more extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fuelled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.’ The bushfires have killed at least 27 people, destroyed more than 1,400 homes and devastated animal life.
Mr Taalas said the world was heading for 3C to 5C of warming by 2100. National records for summer temperatures were set in France, Germany and Belgium over the past decade.
The data from the British experts is compiled from millions of air and sea surface measurements across the globe and puts temperatures 1.89F (1.05C) above preindustrial levels. That makes 2019 the third warmest year in a series of data stretching back to 1850.
But scientists at Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States also produce figures dating back to 1880, and found that last year was the second warmest on record.
This is partly because of differences in how polar regions are accounted for. The global organisations give the US conclusion as the official finding, on the ‘balance of evidence’. Professor Tim Osborn, of UEA’s climatic research unit, said: ‘We are confident the world has warmed by about 1C since the late 19th century because different methods of working out the global temperature give very similar results.’
■ Human beings have overrun the world, Sir David Attenborough has warned. The broadcaster, 93, says in a trailer for a documentary that the way we live is sending the natural world ‘into a decline’.
The feature-length film, titled David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet, looks back on the defining moments of his life and the environmental devastation over that time. He highlights some of the issues posed by climate change – and explores potential solutions.
‘Human beings have overrun the world,’ says Sir David. ‘This film is my witness statement and my vision of the future. Our planet is headed for disaster. We need to learn how to work with nature rather than against it.’