WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- A U.S. government report says scientists in 48 countries agree key climate indicators all point to the same finding: The Earth is unmistakably warming.
The 2009 State of the Climate report confirms that the past decade was the warmest on record and that the Earth has been growing warmer over the last 50 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.
Ten measurable planet-wide features cited by the report are used to gauge global temperature changes, and seven of them are rising: air temperature over land, sea-surface temperature, air temperature over oceans, sea level, ocean heat, and humidity and temperature in the "active-weather" layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth's surface, the report said.
Three indicators are declining: arctic sea ice, glaciers and spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere.
"For the first time, and in a single compelling comparison, the analysis brings together multiple observational records from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the ocean," Jane Lubchenco, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, said.
"These independently produced lines of evidence all point to the same conclusion: Our planet is warming," she said.
