ASHEVILLE, N.C. – On the fever chart of rising temperatures, 2006 was the warmest year on record for the 48 contiguous states, pairing a summer heat wave with a mild winter – in some places daffodils bloomed out of season and bears forgot to hibernate – government climate experts reported Tuesday.
Based on an analysis of readings from 1,200 weather stations, the average annual temperature in the 48 states last year was 2.2 degrees warmer than the mean temperature for the 20th century and fractionally warmer than 1998, which held the previous temperature record, the researchers reported.
Seven months last year were much warmer than average, concluded the scientists at the National Climatic Data Center, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Indeed, last January was the warmest on record in the U.S. and December was the fourth warmest since record-keeping began in 1895. In five states, December temperatures set records: Minnesota, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Overall, annual temperatures in the U.S. and around the world are one degree warmer than a century ago. Eight of the past 10 years are the warmest on record worldwide. The British Meteorological Office last week predicted that this coming year could become the warmest year globally on record.
“Global warming is pushing these temperatures ever upward,” said meteorologist Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. “We are loading the dice.”
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