Philip Jones of East Anglia University in the United Kingdom reports that 1995 was the warmest year for global-average surface temperatures since reliable records were begun in 1860 (Science, vol. 271, 138). The previous maximum over the last 135 years was recorded in 1990. The eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo volcano in 1991 spewed dust into the stratosphere causing an abrupt cooling for 1991-92, followed by a gradual warm up over the next three years. Considerable attention will focus on the 1996 annual data to see if the rapid upward trend in temperatures that began about 1970 will continue.

E. S. Takle
01/18/96