En ny rapport slår fast at det er uomtvistelig at kloden blir stadig varmere, og 2010 ser ut til å bli det varmeste år noensinne. Oppvarmingen fortsetter til tross for kald vinter i nordområdene.

Rapporten er utarbeidet av US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) og dens britisk motpart, Met Office. Man har nå målt temperaturen ikke bare på landjorda, men høyt i atmosfæren og i havene. Alle data kommer fra tre ulike institusjoner som en ekstra kontroll.

The report draws on data from 10 key climate indicators that all point to that same finding — the world is warming.

The 10 indicators of temperature have been compiled by the Met Office Hadley Centre, drawing on the work of more than 100 scientists from more than 20 institutions. They provide, in a one place, a snapshot of our world and spell out a single conclusion that the climate is unequivocally warming.

Relying on data from multiple sources, each indicator proved consistent with a warming world.
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Dr Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and US NOAA Administrator, says: “The temperature increase of 0.56 °C (1 °F) over the past 50 years may seem small, but it has already altered our planet.

“Glaciers and sea-ice are melting; heavy rainfall is intensifying, and heat waves are more common. And, as the new report tells us, there is now evidence that over 90 percent of warming over the past 50 years has gone into our oceans.”

The report points out that people have spent thousands of years building society for one climate, and now a new one is being created — one that is warmer and more extreme.

While year-to-year changes in temperature often reflect natural climatic variations such as El Niño/La Niña events, changes in average temperature from decade-to-decade reveal long-term trends such as global warming.

Each of the last three decades has been much warmer than the decade before. At the time, the 1980s was the hottest decade on record. In the 1990s, every year was warmer than the average of the previous decade. The 2000s were warmer still.

“For the first time, and in a single compelling comparison, the analysis brings together multiple observational records from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the ocean,” states Deke Arndt, co-editor of the report and chief of the Climate Monitoring Branch of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.

“The records come from many institutions worldwide. They use data collected from diverse sources, including satellites, weather balloons, weather stations, ships, buoys, and field surveys. These independently produced lines of evidence all point to the same conclusion: our planet is warming.”

Vi har bygget et samfunn ut fra et bestemt klima. Det er nå ved å endre seg. Det betyr at det meste vil måtte endre seg.

Rapporten: BAMS State of the Climate Report

Unmistakable signs of a warming world