Sen. Inhofe Falsely Claims The Earth Is Cooling

Sen. Inhofe Falsely Claims The Earth Is Cooling

Sen. Jim Inhofe:

We're in our ninth year of a cooling spell, and everyone understands that that's the case. [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 2/23/10]

That's Not True. The 2000's Were The Hottest Decade On Record

The Last Decade Has Been The Hottest On Record.  According to the MetOffice, the United Kingdom's national weather service, "The ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1997. Global temperatures for 2000-2008 now stand almost 0.2 °C warmer than the average for the decade 1990-1999." The chart appears below:

[UK Met Office, accessed 10/16/09]

NOAA: "The 2000 - 2009 Decade Will Be The Warmest On Record." According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce:

• Global land and ocean annual surface temperatures through October are the fifth warmest on record, at 1.01 degrees F above the long-term average.
• NOAA scientists project 2009 will be one of the 10 warmest years of the global surface temperature record, and likely finish as the fourth, fifth or sixth warmest year on record.
• The 2000 - 2009 decade will be the warmest on record, with its average global surface temperature about 0.96 degree F above the 20th century average. This will easily surpass the 1990s value of 0.65 degree F.
• Ocean surface temperatures (through October) were the sixth warmest on record, at 0.85 degree F above the 20th century average.
• Land surface temperatures through October were the fifth warmest on record, at 1.44 degree F above the 20th century average.
• Arctic sea ice extent reached its third smallest annual minimum on record behind 2007 and 2008. The past five years have produced the lowest sea ice extents on record. [NOAA, accessed 12/9/09]

World Meteorological Organization: The 2000s Are The Warmest Decade On Record. According to the World Meteorological Organization, "The year 2009 is likely to rank in the top 10 warmest on record since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850, according to data sources compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The global combined sea surface and land surface air temperature for 2009 (January-October) is currently estimated at 0.44°C ± 0.11°C (0.79°F ± 0.20°F) above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14.00°C/57.2°F. The current nominal ranking of 2009, which does not account for uncertainties in the annual averages, places it as the fifth-warmest year. The decade of the 2000s (2000-2009) was warmer than the decade spanning the 1990s (1990-1999), which in turn was warmer than the 1980s (1980-1989). More complete data for the remainder of the year 2009 will be analysed at the beginning of 2010 to update the current assessment." [WMO, accessed 12/9/09]