Britain Predicts 2007 to be World’s Warmest Year

LONDON (Reuters) – This year is set to be the hottest on record worldwide due to global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon, Britain’s Meteorological Office said on Thursday.

The Met Office said the combination of factors would likely push average temperatures this year above the record set in 1998. 2006 is set to be the sixth warmest on record globally.

“This new information represents another warning that climate change is happening around the world,” said Met Office scientist Katie Hopkins.

Britain’s Met Office makes a global forecast every January with the University of East Anglia, and said it expected the world’s average temperature to be 0.54 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 long-term average of 14.0 degrees.

Reuters