Trees in Australia are parched by the sun in December,2006. The world is likely to experience the warmest year on record in 2007, the UK's Met Office has forecast. An extended warming period, resulting from an El Nino weather event in the Pacific Ocean, is likely to push up global temperatures, experts predict. They say there is a 60% chance that the average surface temperature will exceed the current record from 1998. The forecasters also revealed that 2006 saw the highest average temperature in the UK since records began in 1914. The global surface temperature is projected to be 0.54C above the long-term average of 14C, beating the current record of 0.52C, which was set in 1998. The annual projection was compiled by the UK Met Office's Hadley Centre, in conjunction with the University of East Anglia. Chris Folland, head of the Hadley Centre's climate variability research, said the forecast was primarily based on two factors. The first was greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, he said. "Greenhouse gases cause heating, while aerosols cause cooling," Professor Folland said. "The other factor which allows us to make a forecast that whether one year is significantly different from the next is the effect of the El Nino." 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Reuters)

據英國氣象局預測，2007年很可能成為有史以來最熱的一年。 據有關專家預測，由太平洋“厄爾尼諾現象”所造成的溫暖期延長可能會導致全球氣溫升高。 據估計，2007年的全球平均溫度超過1998年所創記錄的可能性為60%。 氣象預報工作者稱，去年英國的平均溫度已達到了1914年以來的最高水平。 2007年全球地表溫度預計比長期平均值14攝氏度高出0.54攝氏度，將超過1998年創下的0.52攝氏度的紀錄。 英國氣象局哈德利中心每年都會聯合東英格蘭大學進行此項氣象預測。 哈德利中心氣候變化研究項目的負責人克里斯·福蘭德說，這一預測主要基于兩大因素。 第一個因素是人類活動所排放的溫室氣體。 福蘭德教授說：“溫室氣體會使地球升溫，而大氣中的懸浮微粒則能起到降溫效果。” "另一個因素是‘厄爾尼諾’效應，我們可以據此預測下一年的氣候是否會出現異常。“ （英語點津姍姍編輯）