ASHEVILLE, N.C., Jan. 10 Last year was the warmest in the continental United States in 112 years, prompting climate experts to express concern about climatic changes.The warmth resulted from regional weather patterns and long-term effects of carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere, The Washington Post said Wednesday.In 2006, average temperatures nationwide were 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than mean temperatures nationwide for the 20th century, reported the National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Seven months in 2006 were much warmer than average, capped by the fourth-warmest December on record.People should be concerned about what we are doing to the climate, said Jay Lawrimore, chief of NOAA ' s climate monitoring branch in Asheville, N.C. Burning of fossil fuels is causing an increase in greenhouse gases and there's a broad scientific consensus that is producing climate change.An El Nino weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean also contributed to the record warmth by blocking Arctic air from moving across regions of the United States, NOAA said.Lawrimore said the 2006 temperatures were part of a worrisome trend: The past nine years were among the 25 warmest years recorded for the continental United States.Copyright 2007 by UPI
