The 2000-09 decade was the warmest on record, easily surpassing the previous hottest decade - the 1990s - researchers said Tuesday in a report providing fresh evidence the planet may be warming at a potentially disastrous rate. In 2009, global surface temperatures were 1.01 degree above average, which tied for the fifth warmest year on record, the National Climatic Data Center said. And that helped push the 2000-09 decade to 0.96 degree above normal, which the agency said “shattered" the 1990s record value of 0.65 degree above normal. The warmest year on record was 2005 at 1.11 degrees above normal. The findings come after years of gradually rising global temperatures, which atmospheric scientists attribute to the warming effect of gases released into the air by human activities, including burning fossil fuels. Political leaders from around the world have been struggling to find a solution to this growing problem, most recently at the climate conference in Copenhagen. Reaching agreement has been difficult amid fears of economic effects of any major change. Concerns about the effects of a warmer climate include rising sea levels and the potential spread of tropical diseases, changes in hurricane patterns, increased drought in some areas, disruption of crop growth and wildlife patterns and loss of species unable to adapt.