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Executive Summary
In
2006, Americans experienced a summer heat wave that broke records from coast to
coast and killed almost 200 people. The year ended and 2007 began with the
warmest winter on record globally. This unseasonably warm weather is part of a
long-term trend toward rising temperatures and extreme weather events resulting
from global warming.
Global
average surface temperatures have increased by more than 1.4°F since the second
half of the 19th century.
Earlier this year, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) concluded that the evidence of global warming is “unequivocal” and
that human activities are responsible for most of the rise in temperatures.
To
examine recent temperature patterns in the United
States, we compared temperature data for the years
2000-2006 from 255 weather stations located in all 50 states and Washington, DC
with temperatures averaged over the 30 years spanning 1971-2000. Overall, we
found that temperatures were above the 30-year average across the country, indicating
pervasive warming.
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