Intensifying Signs of Warming Continued in 2010, U.S. Report Concludes

The world showed signs last year of accelerated warming, with carbon dioxide emissions continuing to soar, ice retreating in Greenland at the fastest rate in recorded history, and 2010 tying 2005 as the warmest year on record, according to a U.S. government report. The State of the Climate Report for 2010, prepared by 368 researchers from 45 countries, pointed to numerous signs of intensifying warming, including the fact that the global temperature has been warmer than the 20th century average every month for the past 25 years. The report noted that in 2010 atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide jumped 2.6 parts-per-million to 394 ppm; that global sea surface temperatures were the third warmest on record; that Alpine glaciers shrank for the 20th consecutive year; and that Arctic summer sea ice was at the third lowest level in recorded history. “Multiple indicators, same bottom-line conclusion: consistent and unmistakable signal from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the oceans,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a briefing for reporters. The report also noted a jump in extreme weather events that could be tied to rising temperatures.