Yesterday was 11ºC warmer than March 24 last year

If you happen to be reading this lying or sitting in the sun, cast your mind back to March 25 last year. The skies were overcast and the temperature struggled to reach 17ºC during the day before dropping to 13ºC overnight. Yesterday morning at 9.30 a.m. in Palma it was 23ºC and temperatures reached a maximum of 28ºC, with an overnight low of 11ºC. According to the experts, this is all because of global warming. Once studies have been completed, last year the earth's temperature is expected to have been the fifth highest since global records began 140 years ago, the UN weather agency says. The World Meteorological Organisation says global warming is causing an increase in the severity and frequency of storms and droughts - the latter from which the Balearics has suffered badly. The World Meteorological Organisation says the global mean surface temperature for 2000 is expected to be 0.6 C (1 F) above the longterm average, which is taken as 15 C (59 F). The overall high was set in 1998.