Extreme heat pushes 2013 into the record books The World Meteorological Organisation is predicting that this year will be one of the worlds ten hottest years since modern records began in 1850. Picture: Dean Martin Source: adelaidenow EXTREME temperatures in Australia are pushing 2013 into the history books as one of the hottest years on record. The World Meteorological Organisation is predicting that this year will be one of the world's ten hottest years since modern records began in 1850. And while temperature records are being broken across the globe, Australia is leading the way - the year between November 2012 and October 2013 was our hottest 12-month period yet. World Meteorological Organisation secretary-general Michel Jarraud said the decade between 2001 and 2010 was the warmest on record and that trend of warming had continued. All of the warmest years have been since 1998 and this year once again continues the underlying, long-term trend. Mr Jarraud said. The coldest years now are warmer than the hottest years before 1998. Mr Jarraud said carbon pollution meant the world was "committed to a warmer future." "Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases reached new highs in 2012, and we expect them to reach unprecedented levels yet again in 2013," he said. Rising temperatures would also be matched by changes in the world's water cycle, meaning more intense droughts, floods and other extreme weather events. "The Philippines is reeling from the devastation wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan, the most powerful tropical cyclone ever to hit the country and one of the most intense ever recorded anywhere," Mr Jarraud said. Although individual tropical cyclones cannot be directly attributed to climate change, higher sea levels are already making coastal populations more vulnerable to storm surges. The World Meteorological Organisation's statement confirmed that global sea levels had reached a new high after rising at an average rate of 3.2mm per year since measurements began in 1993. "Sea levels will continue to rise because of melting ice caps and glaciers," Mr Jarraud said. More than 90 per cent of the extra heat we are generating from greenhouse gas is absorbed by the oceans, which will consequently continue to warm and expand for hundreds of years.