The inauguration of Barack Obama as the United States’ first black President … the wild goose chase resulting from the search for six-year-old Falcon Heene, “Balloon Boy” … the doomed Airbus 330 which splashed into the Atlantic Ocean midway between Paris and Rio de Janeiro … the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit … these were among the top news headlines which highlighted 2009.
While all of these news stories were certainly monumental and made for interesting reading, one other news story deserves our utmost attention. This was that 2009 ranked as one of the five warmest years in history and this had nothing to do with the media heat that Richard Heene faced when his son was found alive hiding at home and not drifting aloft in the homemade weather balloon, as suspected.
Internationally, thermometers climbed and worldwide temperatures were recorded to exceed the annual average by 0.4 degrees Celsius (32.72 degrees Fahrenheit). Looking back, the previous warmest year was 2005 and the warmest year on record was 1998 – here, average temperatures were recorded at 14.52 degrees Celsius (58.14 degrees Fahrenheit). In reviewing the years between 2001 and 2007, our planet’s annual temperature was 14.44 degrees Celsius (58 degrees Fahrenheit). Comparing these times to last decade, those values recorded were considerably cooler by 0.21 degrees Celsius (32.38 degrees Fahrenheit).
The explanation for this phenomenon is simple – it is due to global warming. As we continue to excessively heat our own atmosphere, the planet’s annual temperatures will further rise. Scientists forecast that 2010 temperatures will already exceed this previous year – this is not promising news.
As you are continuing to discuss 2009 around your dinner table and your office water cooler, do not overlook to note that the “year that was” has a tremendous impact on the years that will be.
