2015 hottest year since 1880; easily beats 2014 record

21 Jan 2016

1

Not only was 2015 the warmest year worldwide since 1880, it shattered the previous record held in 2014 by the widest margin ever observed, said the report by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

 
Image: inhabitat.com  

"During 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.90 Celsius above the 20th century average," said the NOAA report.

"This was the highest among all years in the 1880-2015 record."

Compared to 2014, last year was 0.29 degrees Fahrenheit warmer, the "largest margin by which the annual global temperature record has been broken."

The US space agency NASA, which monitors global climate using a fleet of satellites and weather stations, confirmed that last year broke records for heat in contemporary times.

NASA said that the temperature changes are largely driven by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.

"Climate change is the challenge of our generation," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

"Today`s announcement not only underscores how critical NASA's Earth observation programme is, it is a key data point that should make policymakers stand up and take notice -- now is the time to act on climate."The latest finding adds to a steady rise in heat across land and sea surfaces that have seen records repeatedly broken over the years.

"Since 1997, which at the time was the warmest year on record, 16 of the subsequent 18 years have been warmer than that year," said the NOAA report.

Last year alone, 10 months had record high temperatures for their respective months.

The heat was felt worldwide, with unprecedented warmth covering much of Central America and the northern half of South America.

Hot temperatures were observed in parts of northern, southern and eastern Europe as well as western Asia and a large section of east-central Siberia.

Regions of eastern and southern Africa experienced more scorching days than ever, as did large parts of the northeastern and equatorial Pacific boosted by the El Nino weather phenomenon.

But according to Tom Karl, director of NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, new heat records would have been set even without El Nino, which leads to warmer waters in the equatorial Pacific.

"But El Nino pushed it way over the top," Karl told reporters.

NOAA`s announcement came against a backdrop of the recently completed Paris climate talks, at which the goal of capping global warming at two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels was enshrined.

Many scientists say the planet is already about halfway to that milestone, with no sign of slowing down.

As a result, melting ice sheets and warming oceans will lead to rising seas in the coming years.

Rain will become heavier and some storms more severe as the globe heats up, and cold snaps may become rarer.

"This trend will continue," said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA`s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Because of the strong El Nino influence at the beginning of this year, "2016 is expected to be an exceptionally warm year and perhaps even another record," he told reporters.

According to Astrid Caldas, climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, the news of 2015's record was no surprise, but the year-over-year jump merits attention.

"It`s significant that 2015 was hotter than the previous record by so much in both calculations because it points to a strong warming trend that`s been observed lately," she said.

"A massive ramp-up of renewable -- and low-carbon -- energy will be essential to stay within two degrees Celsius of warming and avoid new records being set."

Latest articles

Senior bankers in PSBs are in firing line: AIBEA

IIT Madras – ISRO to set up Centre of Excellence for research in Fluid and Thermal Sciences

IIT Madras – ISRO to set up Centre of Excellence for research in Fluid and Thermal Sciences

LPG as automobile fuel a solution for Delhi NCR air pollution: IAC

LPG as automobile fuel a solution for Delhi NCR air pollution: IAC

Entry of Starlink and Kuiper could churn India’s telecom sector

Entry of Starlink and Kuiper could churn India’s telecom sector

India building Rs820-cr railway test track in Rajasthan

India building Rs820-cr railway test track in Rajasthan

Rupee falls to 84.37 a dollar as foreign funds withdraw over $2.37 bn from Indian stocks in five days

Rupee falls to 84.37 a dollar as foreign funds withdraw over $2.37 bn from Indian stocks in five days

New central scheme to facilitate guarantee-free loans for higher education

New central scheme to facilitate guarantee-free loans for higher education

Canada ends Student Direct Stream channel for student visas

Canada ends Student Direct Stream channel for student visas

Supreme Court orders liquidation of Jet Airways as debt resolution fails

Supreme Court orders liquidation of Jet Airways as debt resolution fails

Business History Videos

History of hovercraft Part 3 | Industry study | Business History

History of hovercraft Part 3...

Today I shall talk a bit more about the military plans for ...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of hovercraft Part 2 | Industry study | Business History

History of hovercraft Part 2...

In this episode of our history of hovercraft, we shall exam...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Hovercraft Part 1 | Industry study | Business History

History of Hovercraft Part 1...

If you’ve been a James Bond movie fan, you may recall seein...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Trams in India | Industry study | Business History

History of Trams in India | ...

The video I am presenting to you is based on a script writt...

By Aniket Gupta | Presenter: Sheetal Gaikwad

view more
View details about the software product Informachine News Trackers