2014 likely to go down in history as the hottest year on record

Global warming continues apace with 2014 likely to go down in the history books as the hottest year on record, according to preliminary estimates from the World Meteorological Organisation.

Whether it ranks as number one or amongst the hottest years on record comes down to measurements of air and ocean temperatures for the months of November and December, the organisation said in a statement issued today.

Figures for January through October showed the year on track to be declared the hottest yet recorded with global sea surface temperatures up by 0.45 degrees compared to the 30 year average, setting a new high.

Over land air temperatures were up by 0.86 degrees compared to average, the organisation said, making 2014 the fourth or fifth warmest on record for this 10-month block.

The record global sea temperatures helped to trigger exceptionally heavy rainfall and floods in many countries while delivering extreme drought in others.

Parts of the Balkan Peninsula got 250 per cent of September’s average monthly rainfall while some areas in Turkey got 500 per cent more than normal, the organisation said.

Closer to home 12 major storms affected the UK in January and February, making it the wettest on record with 177 per cent more precipitation than the long-term average.

Severe drought conditions affected China and parts of Central America and a 60 per cent drop in the expected rainfall continues to affect the US southwest.

The figures confirmed the underlying long-term warming trend affecting the planet, said the organisation's secretary-general Michel Jarraud. "There is no standstill in global warming."

He described as “particularly unusual and alarming” the high temperatures recorded across vast areas of the ocean surface given this can drive heavy rain and flooding or promote drought.

The provisional information for 2014 means that 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all occurred during the 21st century, he said.

Greenhouse gas emissions also reached new highs in the latest 2013 figures, with average carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measuring 396 parts per million. Some stations in the Northern Hemisphere regularly record levels above the psychologically important 400 parts per million level. Other greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide were also up.

The Irish Environmental Protection Agency also released figures today (WED) on Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions during 2013. While the emissions overall were lower by 0.4 per cent, the agency noted that emissions increased in agriculture, transport and in households.

These emission rises which ranged from 2.1 to 2.6 per cent highlighted the challenges that Ireland faced in meeting EU and international targets and in moving to a low-carbon economy, the agency said.

Total emissions stood at 57.81 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2013.