El Nino seen triggering next world warmth record | Reuters
A current La Nina, widely seen as a factor causing floods in Australia that have killed at least 19 people, is a natural cooling of the Pacific that mirrors El Nino.
Other natural events that affect temperatures include variations in the sun's output, shifts in ocean currents or big volcanic eruptions such as that of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, whose ash dimmed sunlight worldwide.
Jones said that warming from 1979 to 2010 had been 0.51 degree Celsius (0.9 Fahrenheit), or 0.016 C a year. But annual natural swings were far bigger -- in the largest 20th century shift, 1977 was 0.29 degree C warmer than 1976.
Jones was cleared of scientific misconduct last year after hacked e-mails raised questions about the reliability of data in the "Climategate" controversy.
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