The 2006 calendar year, according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was the second warmest year since
record keeping began in 1895, ranking only behind 1998, which was a
mere .08 degrees Farenheit warmer. At issue since that reading has
been whether El Nino played a major role in the warm temperatures, as
the presence of El Nino certainly had a major effect on Atlantic
Tropical activity. Though there was some speculation that the presence
of El Nino may have been a significant contributor to the warm
temperature anomaly, most in the meteorological community were aware
that El Nino has never, in the past, made such a significant
contribution to national temperature, adn though warmer average
temperatures can be observed during El Nino periods, the amount of
warming is usually a fraction of what was observed in 2006. After
completing a recent study, a group of scientists at NOAA have done an
in-depth analysis of the heat of 2006, and determined that not only was
El Nino a small contributor, but that a combination of natural cycles
and greenhouse gases played a major role - with greenhouse gases likely
accounting for more than half of the widespread warmth across the Lower
48 states. Click here to access the press release from NOAA. A summary of the report by the Associated Press can be found on the CNN website, by clicking here. -Matt
Have a comment on this report from NOAA? Feel free to include it in the comments section!
Comments