ABSTRACT
On 16 December 2003 the World Meteorological Office in Geneva issued a press release stating that 2003 was the third warmest year on record globally.1 The warmest year on record remains 1998, when the global surface temperature hit 0.55 C (0.99 F) above the 1961-90 annual average. The second warmest year was 2002, when the global surface temperature was 0.48 C (0.864 F) above the 1961-90 baseline. The global surface temperature for 2003 was around 0.45 C (0.81 F) above the 1961-90 annual average.
