2014 was the world's hottest year on record; recent sea level rise faster than thought

Tue 06 January 2015 View all news

Provisional figures for 2014 show it was the UK's warmest and fourth wettest year in records dating back to 1910. The UK's mean temperature for the year was 9.9 °C; 1.1 °C above the long-term (1981-2010) average. Global temperatures followed a similar pattern, registering temperatures 0.69 °C above the 20th-century average according to US government scientists.
 
The latest year's record means that eight of the UK's top ten warmest years have happened since 2002.
 
The world was the hottest it has been since systematic records began in 1880, especially on the oceans, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa)  confirmed were the driver of 2014’s temperature rise. The global average temperatures over land and sea surface for the year were 1.24F (0.69C) above the 20th-century average,.
 
The scientists said 2014 was 0.07F (0.04C) higher than the previous records set in 2005 and 2010, and the 38th consecutive year of above-average temperatures.
 
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that the rate at which the global oceans have risen in the past two decades is more significant than previously recognised, according to US-based scientists.
 
Their reassessment of tide gauge data from 1900-1990 found that the world's seas went up more slowly than earlier estimates - by about 1.2mm per year. But this makes the 3mm per year tracked by satellites since 1990 a much bigger trend change as a consequence.
 

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