Climate experts say data for the first decade of the 21st century
likely will show it to be the warmest on record, with 2009 its hottest
year.
The World Meteorological Organization released those findings Tuesday,
on the second day of a 192-nation climate conference in Copenhagen.
WMO chief Michel Jarraud said final analysis early next year likely
will show 2009 as the fifth-warmest year since scientists began
recording global data in 1850. He also cited data showing record
temperatures in large parts of South Asia and central Africa.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says e-mails leaked from a
British university have done nothing to undermine scientific research
linking global warming to human activity. Speaking Tuesday in New York,
Mr. Ban said evidence showing climate change happening much faster than
anticipated is "quite clear," as is data that humans are the primary
cause.
Critics of the global warming theory say the e-mails hacked (stolen) from the University of East Anglia last month show mainstream scientists colluding to discredit alternate theories.
Delegates to the December 7-18 conference are seeking to craft a deal
to curb global warming and help poor countries cope with its effects.
A global warming treaty replacing the existing Kyoto Protocol must
balance proposed caps on carbon gas emissions with economic realities
in developing economies. The Kyoto pact expires in 2012.
Delegates are considering a proposal under which rich countries would
contribute $10 billion a year in funding to poor countries in each of
the next three years.
More than 100 world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, are expected to attend the Copenhagen conference next week.