2005 was the warmest year ever recorded, beating the previous record high set in 1998 and continues a general trend of rising temperatures dating back to 1980. In May 2005, scientists concluded the Earth is absorbing more of the sun's energy than is being emitted back into space, disrupting the planet's energy balance and resulting in global warming. The average global temperature rose by about 0.6°C in the 20th century. At higher latitudes - in Switzerland, for instance - the increase in temperature is even greater.

Statistics tell us that the 1990s were very probably the warmest decade of the entire millennium. The various emission scenarios of the IPCC - International Panel on Climate Change indicate that the average global temperature will rise by a further 1.1°C to 6.4°C (2-11.5°F) by 2100 (depending on assumptions regarding the development of the economy, technology and population, which naturally affect the emission of greenhouse gases).

As well as an increase in the average temperature, we can also expect minimum and maximum temperatures to rise, in summer as well as winter. There will be more hot summers like the one in 2003, and winters will generally become milder.