GHG Daily Vol. 1 No. 8
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January 20, 2016

NASA, NOAA: 2015 Hottest Year on Record

By Abby Harvey

GHG Daily
1/21/2016

Global surface temperatures in 2015 were the highest on record, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Wednesday. Modern record keeping of surface temperatures has been ongoing since 1880. Prior to 2015, 2014 was the hottest year on record, according to the agencies. “Today’s announcement not only underscores how critical NASA’s Earth observation program is, it is a key data point that should make policy makers stand up and take notice — now is the time to act on climate,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a press release.

Not only is the data significant as a record breaker, it also signals one of the greatest increases in temperature over the prior record holder in recorded history. “Globally-averaged temperatures in 2015 shattered the previous mark set in 2014 by 0.23 degrees Fahrenheit (0.13 Celsius). Only once before, in 1998, has the new record been greater than the old record by this much,” according to the NASA release.

The organizations also noted that most of the warming on record has occurred in the last 35 years, with 15 of 16 warmest years on record occurring since the turn of the century. The Earth’s average surface temperature is up by roughly 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1.0 degree Celsius) since the end of the 19th century, “a change largely driven by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere,” the release says.

It was noted that a warming El Niño was in effect for most of 2015, which can impact global average temperature. “2015 was remarkable even in the context of the ongoing El Niño,” Goddard Institute for Space Studies Director Gavin Schmidt said in the release. “Last year’s temperatures had an assist from El Niño, but it is the cumulative effect of the long-term trend that has resulted in the record warming that we are seeing.”

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