§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the global effects of Arctic warming on world temperature. [6344]
§ Mr. MeacherGlobal surface temperature records are maintained by the Hadley Centre, on behalf of the Government. They take account of the effects of Arctic warming when calculating world temperatures by including long-term observations from nearly 60 land-based monitoring stations in the Arctic in their records. Additional ship-borne measurements from the Arctic are also incorporated.
250WObserved temperature trends vary significantly between different regions of the world, but the general trend in Arctic surface temperatures over the past century is similar to that for the global average. In particular, there has been a period of rapid warming in recent decades.