World is Getting Warmer, Scientists Say

Many scientists seem to agree; the world is getting warmer.

The annual State of the Climate Report 2013, which consists of reviewed scientific data and weather events over the past year by over 400 scientists and 50 countries, showed that 2013 was one of the hottest years on record. With greenhouse gases reaching historic highs, next year's report should show something similar.

"If we want to do an analogy to human health, if we are looking at our weight gain and we are trying to maintain an ideal weight, we are continuing to see ourselves put on more weight from year to year," said director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center, Tom Karl, via the Times of India. "The planet-its state of the climate-is changing more rapidly in today's world than in any time in modern civilization."

With global temperatures the warmest on record worldwide, four major datasets showed that 2013 ranked between second and sixth for all-time heat, according to the report.

"Australia observed its warmest year on record, while Argentina had its second warmest and New Zealand its third warmest," the report said.

Though the report showed some surprises, Karl noted that ongoing trends continue the waning pattern seen throughout recent decades. According to the report, on average, global sea levels also rose, continuing the trend of adding about three millimeters per year over the past two decades.

"In 2013, global average sea level reached a new record high," said Jessica Blunden, climatologist at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center.

The report has been published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.