Query: "January 2008 capped a 12 month period of global temperature drops on all of the major well respected indicators.

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Latvia <=SEP=> Latvia ( -LSB- ˈlætviə -RSB- Latvija -LSB- ˈlatvija -RSB- ) , officially the Republic of Latvia ( -LSB- Latvijas Republika , links = no -RSB- ) , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe , one of the three Baltic states . It is bordered by Estonia to the north , Lithuania to the south , Russia to the east , and Belarus to the southeast , as well as a maritime border to the west alongside Sweden . Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64589 km2 . The country has a temperate seasonal climate .   Latvia is a democratic parliamentary republic established in 1918 . The capital city is Riga , the European Capital of Culture 2014 . Latvian is the official language . Latvia is a unitary state , divided into 119 administrative divisions , of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities .   Latvians and Livs are the indigenous people of Latvia . Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages . Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries , the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and musical traditions . Latvia and Estonia share a long common history . As a consequence of centuries of Russian rule ( 1710-1918 ) and later Soviet occupation , both countries are home to a large number of ethnic Russians ( 26.9 % in Latvia and 25.5 % in Estonia ) , some of whom ( 14.1 % of Latvian residents ) have not gained citizenship , leaving them with no citizenship at all . Until World War II , Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans and Jews .   Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran , except for the Latgale region in the southeast , which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic . The Russian population has also brought a significant portion of Eastern Orthodox Christians .   The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918 . However , its de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II . In 1940 , the country was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union , invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941 , and re-occupied by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years . The peaceful Singing Revolution , starting in 1987 , called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule . It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990 , and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991 .   Latvia is a democratic and developed country and member of the European Union , NATO , the Council of Europe , the United Nations , CBSS , the IMF , NB8 , NIB , OECD , OSCE , and WTO . For 2014 , Latvia was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and as a high income country on 1 July 2014 . It used the Latvian lats as its currency until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014 .

Month <=SEP=> A month is a unit of time , used with calendars , which is approximately as long as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon ; month and Moon are cognates . The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases ; such months ( lunations ) are synodic months and last approximately 29.53 days . From excavated tally sticks , researchers have deduced that people counted days in relation to the Moon 's phases as early as the Paleolithic age . Synodic months , based on the Moon 's orbital period with respect to the Earth-Sun line , are still the basis of many calendars today , and are used to divide the year .

Year <=SEP=> A year is the orbital period of the Earth moving in its orbit around the Sun . Due to the Earth 's axial tilt , the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons , marked by changes in weather , the hours of daylight , and , consequently , vegetation and soil fertility . In temperate and subpolar regions around the globe , four seasons are generally recognized : spring , summer , autumn and winter . In tropical and subtropical regions several geographical sectors do not present defined seasons ; but in the seasonal tropics , the annual wet and dry seasons are recognized and tracked .   A calendar year is an approximation of the number of days of the Earth 's orbital period as counted in a given calendar . The Gregorian , or modern , calendar , presents its calendar year to be either a common year of 365 days or a leap year of 366 days , as do the Julian calendars ; see below . For the Gregorian calendar the average length of the calendar year ( the mean year ) across the complete leap cycle of 400 years is 365.2425 days . The ISO standard ISO 80000-3 , Annex C , supports the symbol `` a '' ( for Latin annus ) to represent a year of either 365 or 366 days . In English , the abbreviations `` y '' and `` yr '' are commonly used .   In astronomy , the Julian year is a unit of time ; it is defined as 365.25 days of exactly seconds ( SI base unit ) , totalling exactly seconds in the Julian astronomical year .   The word `` year '' is also used for periods loosely associated with , but not identical to , the calendar or astronomical year , such as the seasonal year , the fiscal year , the academic year , etc. . Similarly , `` year '' can mean the orbital period of any planet : for example , a Martian year or a Venusian year are examples of the time a planet takes to transit one complete orbit . The term can also be used in reference to any long period or cycle , such as the Great Year .