2011 will go down in history as the year of extreme climate events, experts believe

National Board of oceanic and atmospheric research, USA (NOAA) in conjunction with the American meteorological society (AMS) has published a report on the state of the climate in 2011. The document was developed 348 scientists in 48 countries, it contains detailed data on climatic changes observed during the last year.

"2011 will go down in history as the year of climate extremes", - says a leading researcher at NOAA Catherine Sullivan.

Climatic phenomenon La Nina, which is characterized by an abnormal cooling of surface waters in the Central and Eastern tropical zone of the Pacific ocean, has influenced many significant weather events in the world last year. Among them the drought in East Africa, in the southern United States and Northern Mexico, the tropical cyclone season in the North Atlantic, typhoons in the North-Western Pacific ocean, the most powerful for the last 70 years flood in Thailand, the flood in Brazil and summer heat in Central Europe.

The report also notes that the Arctic continues to show the most rapid climate change in comparison with the rest of the planet. Here warming has led to the fact that the area of sea ice has decreased to a year low.

In the preparation of the report to determine changes and General trends in the global climate system were used 43 indicators, among which the air temperature in the lower and upper atmosphere, assessment of the cloud cover, sea-surface temperature and others.

Alina MAKSIMOVA