World's Warmest Winter Ever

CBS News

(AP) This winter was the warmest on record worldwide, the government said, the government said Thursday in the latest worrisome report focusing on changing climate.

The report comes just over a month after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said global warming is very likely caused by human actions and is so severe it will continue for centuries.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the combined land and ocean temperatures for December through February were 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit above average for the period since record keeping began in 1880.

Preliminary data from the National Climatic Data Center listed the average temperature for the 48 contiguous U.S. states last year as 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12.8 Celsius). That is 2.2 degrees (1.2 Celsius) ) warmer than average and 0.07 (0.04 Celsius) degrees warmer than 1998, the previous warmest year on record. MORE...