OSLO: The Earth is likely to get relief in 2017 from record scorching temperatures that bolstered governments' resolve last year in reaching a deal to combat climate change , scientists said on Wednesday.July was the hottest single month since records began in the 19th century, driven by greenhouse gases and an El Nino event warming the Pacific. He added there was no sign of a strong La Nina, El Nino's opposite that can cool the planet.In 1998, a powerful El Nino led to a record year of heat and it took until 2005 to surpass the warmth. That hiatus led some people who doubt mainstream findings that climate change has a human cause to conclude that global warming had stopped. "If 2017 is cooler, there will probably be some climate sceptics surfing on this information," said Jean-Noel Thepaut, head of the Copernicus Climate Change Service at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. "The long-term trend is towards warming but there is natural variability so there are ups and downs.

Source: Economic Times August 17, 2016 13:18 UTC