The Heat is On

2005 will bethe second or third warmest year on record globally according to the Meteorological Office; the exact place in the charts depending on how Siberia reacts between now and the end of the year.
1998 was the warmest year ever with the four next hottest years being in order 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2001. This is since records began in 1861 and includes both air and water temperature.
I'm not saying this to jump on some politically correct bandwagon, but in a world where the value of the Kyoto protocol is called into question and all the biggest consumers are struggling to cope with an energy deficit, it's often worth considering hard fact.