2004 was fourth-warmest year on record [View All]

[Earth_First]

2004 was fourth-warmest year on record
U.N. conference seeks cuts in greenhouse gases

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:20 p.m. ET Dec. 15, 2004

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - The year 2004, punctuated by four powerful hurricanes in the Caribbean and deadly typhoons lashing Asia, was the fourth-hottest on record, extending a trend since 1990 that has registered the 10 warmest years, a U.N. weather agency said Wednesday.

The current year was also the most expensive for the insurance industry in coping worldwide with hurricanes, typhoons and other weather-related natural disasters, according to new figures released by U.N. environmental officials.

Scientists say a sustained increase in temperature is likely to continue disrupting the global climate, increasing the intensity of storms, potentially drying up farmlands and raising ocean levels, among other things.

Scientists have reported that temperatures across the globe rose an average of 1 degree over the past century, with the rate of change since 1976 at roughly three times that over the past 100 years.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6720088/