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The world has been sweltering in what is thought to be the 10th hottest year on record - one in which Arctic sea ice shrank and the hole in the ozone layer stayed stubbornly large.
Data released by the World Meteorological Organisation yesterday showed the globe was 0.31 degrees celsius hotter than the 1961-1990 average of 14C.
And New Zealand kept pace with the world's warming - preliminary results show the average temperature here was about 0.3C hotter in 2008 than the average for the past three decades.
The WMO - which collects climate data from around the world - said 2008 was cooler than other years in the 21st century because of a La Nina weather pattern.
But it was warm for a La Nina year, and was likely to be the 10th hottest year since records began in 1850.
While New Zealanders grumbled about the quick onset of winter, other parts of the globe suffered extreme cold, devastating floods, sizzling heatwaves and prolonged droughts.
In January, parts of Turkey shivered through their coldest nights in almost 50 years - part of a cold wave that killed hundreds of people in Afghanistan and China.
In March, a record heatwave in southern Australia brought Adelaide its longest-running hot spell - 15 consecutive days with maximum temperatures above 35C.
A very warm northern summer shrank Arctic sea ice to its second-smallest area, and smallest volume since satellite measurements began in 1979.
The ozone hole grew to its second-biggest size this year - and CO2 levels in the atmosphere kept rising rapidly.
Arctic sea ice shrank to its smallest surface area of 4.3 million km in 2007. However, because the ice was thinner this year, the volume of ice was less in 2008 than in any other year.
Niwa climate scientist James Renwick said the sea ice was melting more quickly than scientists had expected, meaning global warming might accelerate beyond UN forecasts.
Ice deflects the sun's heat better than water, so melting Arctic ice could speed the pace of global warming.
Mr Renwick said the ice could melt completely within a decade.
The European Union wants to keep global warming to within 2C of preindustrial levels, meaning the earth has about 1C further to warm before it reaches temperatures most scientists agree are dangerous.
WMO said the growth rate of CO2 in the atmosphere - thought to be the biggest culprit behind the warming- had increased about 2 parts per million every year since 2000.
There is evidence oceans are absorbing less CO2 than they used to, meaning countries might have to make bigger cuts in CO2 emissions to get the same result.
