UN weather agency: 2009 was 5th warmest on record

GENEVA — The UN weather agency said last year was the fifth warmest on record. The World Meteorological Organization said analysis of the final two months of 2009 confirm a forecast made in December that ranked last year among the warmest since 1850. The Geneva-based agency said land temperatures in 2009 were 0.34 to 0.56 degrees Celsius higher than the 1961-1990 average it uses for comparison. WMO also confirmed Tuesday that the decade 2000-2009 was the warmest since records began. — AP