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Thursday, December 16, 2004

2004 was Fourth-Warmest Year on Record

Now might be the time to invest in companies making sunscreen and swimwear. This year has proven to be the fourth warmest year ever recorded, according to the World Meterological Organization, the UN's weather bureau.

This fits in with a trend of increasing warmth, with the top 10 warmest years all occurring after 1990, and the top five occurring after 1998 (which was the warmest year ever). Overall, the average global temperature was 0.8 degrees above normal.

The WMO, which monitors weather all over the world, says that the warm weather contributed to heat waves in Europe, increased typhoon activity in the Pacific, and, of course, North America's brutal hurricane season.

Source: Associated Press