The WMO says 2012 was the ninth warmest year recorded since 1850, and the 27th consecutive year in which the global land and ocean temperatures were above the 1961-1990 average.
The WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said the continuing warming was cause for worry, and that it was on track to continue.
The assessment comes in the WMO’s Statement on the status of the global climate in 2012, the latest in an annual series providing information about temperatures, precipitation, extreme events, tropical cyclones, and sea ice extent.
It estimates the 2012 global land and ocean surface temperature during January-December 2012 at 0.45°C (±0.11°C) above the 1961-1990 average of 14.0°C. The years 2001-2012 were all among the top 13 warmest years on record.
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