The Courier-Mail
By: Amanda Beck
The average global land surface temperature this year will be the highest since records began in 1880.
Japan's weather agency reported yesterday that the average land surface temperature from January to November this year was higher than in the past in all regions except for southern South America. It said the ocean surface temperature was also higher in most areas except for the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator.
The global average land surface temperature this year was forecast to reach 0.67C above the mean average temperature of the 30-year period from 1971 to 2000.
In 2005 and 2006, the global average land surface temperature was 0.58C above the mean from 1971 to 2000.
The report said natural climate fluctuations contributed to the temperature rises, but that greenhouse gas emissions also played a part.
Other climate scientists reported yesterday that Arctic ice at the North Pole melted at a record rate this year -- the latest sign that climate change has accelerated in recent years.
Scientists said two principal factors were accelerating the vanishing of the polar icepack, which helps cool the Earth by reflecting the sun's rays back into the atmosphere.
Michael Steele, of the University of Washington, said that as temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans rose, warmer water moved into the Arctic Ocean. This helps melt the polar icecap, which this year floated in water about 3.5C warmer than its historical mean.
John Walsh, of the University of Alaska, said: ``Water that is now circulating just 200m below the main icepack is now significantly warmer than it was just five years ago.''
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