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The year 2019 was Earth’s second-hottest year since record-keeping began and scientists say we should brace ourselves for more extreme weather events, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); plus more weather news and today’s forecast.
Using a combination of several datasets, including two from NASA and one from the UK Met Office, the World Meteorological Organization found that the average global temperature in 2019 was 1.1 degrees Celsius or 2.0 Fahrenheit above preindustrial temperature levels, making it the second-warmest year since record-keeping began.
“Unfortunately, we expect to see much extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fuelled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
The hottest year ever recorded was 2016, where the average global temperature reached 1.2 Celsius or 2.2 Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels, according to the WMO, driven by an El Niño weather pattern.
“In the future, we easily can expect warmer El Ninos than the previous ones,” Omar Baddour, a WMO scientist said. “We can raise a red flag now.”
The WMO data shows that the temperature of the planet is continuing to rise ever closer to a level that a consensus of scientists have agreed will bring major changes to life on Earth if reached.
The 2015 Paris Climate Accord seeks to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius or 2.7 Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels. A global temperature higher than these numbers is expected to melt most of Arctic sea ice and wipe out all of the ocean’s coral reefs.
West: San Francisco 52 & rain, Los Angeles 60 & partly cloudy, Reno 43 & rain, Salt Lake City 46 & partly sunny, Denver 47 & partly sunny.
Northwest: Seattle 43 & rain, Portland 39 & rain, Boise 39 & partly cloudy, Billings 31 & partly sunny.
Southwest: Las Vegas 60 & sunny, Phoenix 69 & cloudy, Albuquerque 38 & brain, El Paso 55 & cloudy, San Antonio 70 & rain.
Central: Dallas 56 & rain, Oklahoma City 39 & rain, Kansas City 31 & partly cloudy, Rapid City 41 & partly sunny.
North-central: Bismarck 0 & mostly sunny, Minneapolis 4 & sunny, Chicago 24 & partly cloudy, Detroit 37 & cloudy.
South: Houston 75 & windy, New Orleans 76 & rain, Memphis 48 & cloudy, Atlanta 61 & partly sunny, Charlotte 63 & partly sunny, Jacksonville 80 & rain, Tampa 82 & partly sunny, Miami 80 & sunny.
East: Cincinnati 40 & partly sunny, Norfolk 63 & partly sunny, Washington 55 & windy, Buffalo 37 & rain, New York 49 & windy, Boston 45 & rain, Bangor 23 & snow.
