America's West heating twice as fast as rest of world

Washington, Mar 31 (UNI) Global warming has hit America's west harder than rest of the world, according the recent temperature figures.

America's west is heating twice as fast as rest of the world.

The news is especially bad for some of the nation's fastest growing cities, which receive water from the drought-stricken Colorado River, Science Daily reported.

The average temperature rise in the Southwest's largest river basin was more than double the average global increase, likely spelling even more parched conditions.

''Scientific opinion on climate change Global warming is hitting the West hard. It is already taking an economic toll on the region's tourism, recreation, skiing, hunting and fishing activities. The speed of warming and mounting economic damage make clear the urgent need to limit global warming pollution,'' Theo Spencer of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said.

For the report, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) analyzed new temperature data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for 11 western states.

For the five-year period 2003-2007, the average temperature in the Colorado River Basin, which stretches from Wyoming to Mexico, was 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the historical average for the 20th Century. The temperature rise was more than twice the global average increase of 1.0 degree during the same period.

The average temperature increased 1.7 degrees in the entire 11-state western region.

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