And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 00:56:21 EST >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: the important news > >AP News Service > >GENEVA (AP) _ Earth's average temperature in 1998 is projected to be >the highest since record keeping began in 1860, the U.N. weather agency >said Thursday. > >The global average for the year is expected to be 1 degree above the >long-term average of 59 degrees, said the World Meteorological > Association. > >It will be the 20th consecutive year during which the earth's surface >temperature has been above normal. New temperature records have been >set in each of the past 18 months. > >The association outlined some of the more significant weather phenomena >during the past year. > >In the United States, spring and summer heat and drought caused massive >wildfire outbreaks in Florida and damage to crops from the southern >plains to the Southeast. > >April to June was the driest period in 104 years in Florida, Texas, >Louisiana and New Mexico, and May to June were the warmest on record in >those states. > >The organization says heat waves caused the deaths of more than 100 >people in Russia in June and great loss of life in India in May. >Widespread drought affecting huge areas of Brazil also induced > extensive wildfires. > >The last stages of the El Nino phenomenon, which changed weather > patterns over much of the world, were blamed for weeks of hazy, > choking fires in Indonesia, drought in Guyana and Papua New Guinea and >extensive flooding in Ecuador, Peru and Kenya. > >The hurricane season that just ended was one of the deadliest on record >with 14 large storms. They included Hurricane Mitch, which killed >thousands in Central America. > > > > > >Copyright 1998 AP News Service. All rights reserved. This material may >not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. >
