While the past 12 months have generally been cooler than previous years due to the La Niña weather pattern, longer-term trends show that the world is still warming due to climate change. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 2008 is likely to rank as the 10th warmest year since records started in 1850.

Data shows that the ten hottest years since 1850 have all been since 1997, peaking in 2005 at 59 degrees Fahrenheit (14.79 degrees celsius). 

2008 was marked by climate extremes around the world including devastating floods, severe and persistent droughts, snow storms, heatwaves and cold waves. Ice volume in the Arctic in 2008 dropped to its second-lowest level since measurements began.  In Myanmar, Cyclone Nargis killed 78,000 people, and a devastating Atlantic hurricane season caused many casualties and widespread destruction in the Carribbean, Central America and the United States.

The dramatic collapse of a quarter of the ancient ice shelves on Canada’s Ellesmere Island in the Arctic Ocean contributed to a shrinking of the Arctic ice cover from 3,474 square miles (9,000 sq km) a century ago to just 386 square miles (1,000 sq km). Meanwhile, the Antarctic ozone hole is larger than in 2007 – growing from 9.7 million square miles (25 million km2) to 10.4 million square miles (27 million km2) in 2008.

The data is based on research by WMO and several collaborating research institutions based on information collected from networks of land-based weather stations, ships and buoys, and satellites.

(Photo:  Courtesy NASA)