This year is set to be the 10th warmest on record, say meteorologists. Climate researchers in the UK said that temperatures in 2011 were nearing the top of records dating back to 1850. This despite a "strong and persistent" La Nina weather system in the Pacific - an effect which should lead to lower temperatures across the world. The World Meteorological Organisation released the figures based on three sets of independent data, including a joint one from the University of East Anglia - currently mired in controversy - and the Met Office, at a climate change conference in Durban this week. However, only last week researchers at UAE were criticised for colluding with politicians to "massage" evidence of man-made climate change after 5,000 emails were leaked online. The WMO released the figures as 200 nations meet in Durban, South Africa, for the latest UN talks, agreeing a deal to tackle climate change. The organisation, whose data also includes figures from the US, put the global average temperature at 0.41 degrees Celsius above the 1961 to 1990 average of 14 degrees Celsius, making it the 10th warmest on record. According to the WMO, the 13 warmest years on record have all occurred in the 15 years between 1997 and 2011.