MEXICO: Although some states have already experienced snowfall, with Chicago breaking a 120-year-old November record last week for getting more than 11 inches, many of those on the East Coast have been experiencing a milder fall this year.
And after this Indian summer it should be no surprise that the World Meteorological Organization announced on Wednesday that 2015 is likely to be the warmest year on record.
According to preliminary figures reported by the organization, the global average surface temperature this year is set to be the warmest yet, with the 2011-2015 period the warmest five-year period on record.
From January through October, the global average surface temperature for 2015 is around 0.73 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average of 14.0 degrees Celsius.
The WMO reports that temperatures will reach the milestone of 1 degree Celsius over the pre-industrial era, and says the recent trend of hot temperatures is caused by human-induced global warming and strong El Niño events.
“The state of the global climate in 2015 will make history as for a number of reasons,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said in the report. “Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached new highs and in the Northern Hemisphere spring 2015 the three-month global average concentration of CO2 crossed the 400 parts-per-million barrier for the first time.
“2015 is likely to be the hottest year on record, with ocean surface temperatures at the highest level since measurements began. It is probable that the 1° Celsius threshold will be crossed,” said Jarraud. “This is all bad news for the planet.”