2006 warmest Year in US in 112 years

Washington, Jan 10 (UNI) The year 2006 was the warmest in the continental United States in the past 112 years, capping a nine-year warming streak ''unprecedented in the historical record'' that was driven in part by the burning of fossil fuels, says the Washington Post.

The daily quoting the government's National Climatic Data Center, says the record-breaking warmth, which caused daffodils and cherry trees to bloom throughout the East on New Year's Day, was the result of both unusual regional weather patterns and the long-term effects of the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

It quotes climate monitoring branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chief Jay Lawrimore saying, ''People should be concerned about what we are doing to the climate.'' He said, ''Burning of fossil fuels is causing an increase in greenhouse gases, and there's a broad scientific consensus that is producing climate change.'' The center said there are indications that the rate at which global temperatures are rising is speeding up. Average temperatures nationwide in 2006 were 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the mean temperatures nationwide for the 20th century, the agency said.

It reported that seven months in 2006 were much warmer than average, and that last month was the fourth-warmest December on record. Average temperatures for all 48 contiguous states were above or well above average, and New Jersey logged its hottest temperatures ever.

The daily says many researchers are concerned that rising temperatures could lead to widespread melting of the polar ice caps, resulting in higher sea levels and more extreme droughts and storms.

But NOAA also pointed to one silver lining: The unusually warm temperatures from October to December helped keep residential energy use for heating 13.5 per cent below the average for that period.

The National Oceanic&Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said an El Nino weather pattern in the equatorial Pacific also contributed to the warm temperatures by blocking cold Arctic air from moving south and east across the nation.

It says climate experts generally do not make much of temperature fluctuations over one or two years, but Lawrimore said the record 2006 temperatures were part of a long and worrisome trend.

For instance, NOAA said, the past nine years have all been among the 25 warmest years on record for the continental United States.

Advocates for more action to control carbon dioxide emissions also voiced concern.

UNI