A press release by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) yesterday, December 2nd, announced that 2010 will rank in the top three of the warmest years on record. The announcement was made as part of COP 16. The press release states that the average global surface temperature for 2010 (Jan to October) is estimated to be almost 1 degree Fahrenheit above the 1961–1990 annual average. This is higher than the average surface temperature for 1998 and 2005, the two hottest years on record. However, the finalized value won’t be known until early 2011 when the Nov. and Dec. averages are known. The release also goes on to state that 2001-2010 is the hottest decade on record and discusses some of the major climate events that occurred this year.
Hopefully, this will be more fuel for the fire (no pun intended) for the ongoing climate negotiations at COP 16. The full press release can be found here.