Global temperature historic record updated

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LONDON, March 19 (UPI) -- British meteorologists say they've updated a global temperature record dating back to 1850 with more data from the rapidly warming Arctic region.

The new data from the Arctic Region, which is warming faster than any other region on the planet, does not change the long-term trend but the data now list 2010, rather than 1998, as the warmest year on record, the BBC reported Monday.

The record, dubbed HadCRUT, is compiled by the British Met Office's Hadley Center and the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, and is one of three global records used extensively by climatologists.

The other two are produced in the United States, one by NASA and one by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"HadCRUT is underpinned by observations and we've previously been clear it may not be fully capturing changes in the Arctic because we have had so little data from the area," Phil Jones, head of the Climatic Research Unit, said. "For the latest version, we have included observations from more than 400 (observation) stations across the Arctic, Russia and Canada.

"This has led to better representation of what's going on in the large geographical region," he said.

The update has been reported in the Journal of Geophysical Research.