[An Nahar] Last year tied for the sixth hottest on record, confirming that Earth's climate system is in the grip of warming that will affect generations to come, the U.N.'s weather agency said Wednesday."The global temperature for the year 2013 is consistent with the long-term warming trend," World Meteorological Organization (WMO) chief Michel Jarraud said in a statement.
Last year equalled 2007 as the sixth warmest year since reliable records began in 1850, with a global land and ocean surface temperature that was 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1961-1990 average, the WMO said.
Temperatures in both years were also 0.03 C (0.05 F) above the average from 2001-2010, which in turn was an extremely hot decade, with 2005 and 2010 topping the warming charts.
Those two years saw temperatures about 0.55 C (1 F) above the long term average.
Thirteen of the 14 warmest years on record have occurred in the 21st century, said the agency.
Jarraud acknowledged that "the rate of warming is not uniform" in every country.
Last year, for instance, was the hottest year on record in Australia, while the United States measured record highs in 2012.
But, Jarraud stressed, "the underlying trend is undeniable".
"Given the record amounts of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, global temperatures will continue to rise for generations to come," the WMO chief warned.