U.K. scientists say 2005 hottest everLONDON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- British scientists have calculated 2005 was the warmest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere, at least since records began being kept in the 1860s.
The United Kingdom's Met Office and the University of East Anglia say the data indicate more evidence of human-induced global warming, the BBC reported Friday.
The average temperature during 2005 in the Northern Hemisphere was 0.65 C above the average for 1961-90 -- the baseline against which scientists compare temperatures. The Northern Hemisphere Atlantic Ocean has also been the hottest on record.
"The data also show that the sea surface temperature in the northern hemisphere Atlantic is the highest since 1880," said David Viner, from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.
Viner says no measurements of average temperature can be completely accurate and the team's calculations are subject to an error of about 0.1 C, however, the long-term trend is clearly upwards.
"It's simple physics; more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, emissions growing on a global basis and consequently increasing temperatures," Viner told the BBC.
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Will year 2006 break the record? 