Year 2012 is the warmest in U.S. history

The area of the continental United States recorded the warmest year in its history, with 47 of 48 states having temperatures above the historical average, according to official information released on Monday (10th).

The Director of the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (the acronym in English, NOAA) said the average temperature from January to August this year was 14.8 º C (58.7 º F), breaking the record of 2006 and getting 2.2 º C (4.0 degrees F) above the average for the entire 20th century.

Only Washington State, in the Pacific Northwest, had temperatures close to their average.  Despite this state, most of the country also suffered from a drier climate than usual, according to the agency.

The summer of 2012 was the third warmest in the country's history. Temperature record keeping began in 1895.  In August, the average temperature in the continental United States was 23.6 º C (74.4 º F). Above the average twentieth century, it was the tenth warmest August 6, according to the records.

Higher-than-average temperatures occurred across much of the West. Nevada tied August 1934 as its warmest August on record, with a statewide temperature 4.0°F above average. Six additional states across the region had August temperatures ranking among their ten warmest. Much of the Northeast was also warmer than average, where five states from Maine to Delaware had monthly temperatures among its ten warmest.

The summer was wetter than average across the West Coast, the Gulf Coast, and New England. Florida had its wettest summer on record, partially driven by Hurricane Isaac in August and Tropical Storm Debby in June.

The warm and dry conditions across much of the West were associated with ideal wildfire conditions. Over 3.6 million acres burned nationwide, mostly across the West. The acreage burned was nearly twice the August average and the most for the month in the 12-year period record.

The planet presented a series of temperature records over the past decade. Scientists attribute the climate change derived from the industrial production of carbon dioxide, causing rising temperatures, and a higher frequency of natural disasters.




Translated from the Portuguese version and appended by:

Lisa Karpova
Pravda.Ru