NOAA: 1997 warmest year of century

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 1997 was the world's warmest year of this century, based on land and ocean surface temperature data. A team at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., reported land and sea temperatures averaged 0.75° F. above normal. For land temperatures, normal was defined by the mean temperature of 61.7° for 1961-90. The 1997 level exceeded the previous record, set in 1990, by 0.15°.

Jan. 19, 1998

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 1997 was the world's warmest year of this century, based on land and ocean surface temperature data.

A team at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., reported land and sea temperatures averaged 0.75° F. above normal.

For land temperatures, normal was defined by the mean temperature of 61.7° for 1961-90. The 1997 level exceeded the previous record, set in 1990, by 0.15°.

NOAA said, "The record-breaking warm conditions of 1997 continue the pattern of very warm global temperatures. Nine of the past 11 years have been the warmest on record."

Tom Karl, who lead the team, said, "Land temperatures did not break the previous record set in 1990, but 1997 was one of the five warmest years since 1880."

NOAA said, including 1997, the top 10 warmest years over the land have all occurred since 1981, and the warmest 5 years all since 1990. Land temperatures for 1997 averaged 0.75° above normal, falling short of the 1990 record by 0.25°.

Ocean temperatures during 1997 were the warmest on record, exceeding the previous record warm years of 1987 and 1995 by 0.30°.

NOAA said global temperature warming trends now exceed 1° F./ 100 years, with land temperatures warming at a somewhat faster rate.

Karl said, "It is likely that the sustained trend toward increasingly warmer global temperatures is related to anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases." NOAA officials said there is only a 5% chance that is not the case.