The presence of global warming is becoming increasingly obvious in everyday weather as location after location experiences record temperatures. Further evidence of global warming occurred this year in terms of the warmth of the oceans. But how does this year rank in terms of actual overall temperatures?
Researchers working at the Met Office in Britain have worked to determine how 2009’s global temperatures rank overall. Temperature records have been kept for 150 years, of which 2009 is being touted as potentially the third warmest. Although the year is not yet complete, experts have indicated that without severe cold in the last month of the year global temperatures will remain in the top five all time.
In addition to the temperatures being in the top five warmest years on record, 2009 is also expected to end warmer than 2008. Comparing recent years to the last 150 years of record keeping has shown that the last ten years are actually ranked in the top 15 warmest all-time.
However, weather experts have indicated that the Pacific La Nina current has actually kept temperatures cooler than they would have been otherwise. The La Nina current works as a coolant to the earth. Now that the Pacific La Nina current is no longer a factor, temperatures are expected to rise.
The El Nino current, which warms the earth, is expected to be influential in global temperatures. Researchers at the Met Office predict that there is a 50-50 chance that world temperatures will hit record highs in 2010 under El Nino influences.
