STEADY RISE IN TEMPERATURE SINCE 1970 : NASA

(REPORTED BY : Amit Bhattacharya, THE TIMES OF INDIA, 20th May, 2010)
Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Steady-rise-in-temperature-since-1970-Nasa/articleshow/5951409.cms

Following the release of global temperature data which revealed April of 2010 was the hottest April ever and that this year so far has been warmest on record, Nasa has said global temperatures have been steadily rising since the late 1970s with no significant let-up in the trend.

The draft paper released by Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies is a rebuff to claims by some experts that the warming trend had flattening out in the current decade. Terms like 'global chill' had briefly gained currency after heavy snowfall in parts of US and Europe last winter.

However, the paper — Current GISS Global Surface Temperature Analysis — says the overall warming trend has held through this decade. "We conclude that global temperature continued to rise rapidly in the past decade... That there has been no reduction in the global warming trend of 0.15-0.20 degrees Celsius per decade that began in the late 1970s," it says.

Apart from 2000-2009 being the warmest decade ever, 17 of the 20 warmest years have been in last two decades. In the monthly global temperature data released by US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, India is shown as having higher than normal temperatures all through this year. Dr K Krishna Kumar of Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, said this was expected.

"Our studies have shown that the spring and summer following an El Nino year are warmer than normal in India. The El Nino phenomenon returned last year, so we expected the higher temperatures this year. I feel this, along with global warming factors, has lead to the sustained high temperatures in India," he said.

Indian Meteorological Department's data shows temperatures in India are in sync with global warming trends. Year 2009, with an average annual temperature of 24.64 degrees Celsius — 0.913 degrees C above the long term average — was the warmest year in the country since systematic record-keeping began in 1901. The next five warmest years have all come post-2000 — 2002, 2006, 2003, 2007 and 2004, in that order.

Meanwhile, experts at IMD Pune said the hot summer may not have any impact on this year's monsoon since the land-ocean temperature difference isn't high as the Indian Ocean too is warming. Cyclone Laila, which is poised to hit the Andhra coast, too, will not affect the onset of the monsoon, senior officials said.