Temperature Rising

  • Released Thursday, February 2, 2012
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Even with the complexities of climate change, scientists still take the planet's pulse with a basic benchmark measurement—temperature. The world has experienced nine of the 10 warmest years on record since 2000. And in 2011, the ninth warmest year since 1880, the average temperature was nearly a full degree warmer (0.92 Fahrenheit) than the 1951-1980 average, which is used as a baseline for comparison. Scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies compute Earth's long-term temperature trend by analyzing readings from thousands of ground-based weather stations and sea surface temperature data from ships and satellites. Earth's long-term warming trend remains driven primarily by an unprecedented increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, created largely by increased fossil fuel burning for generating electricity and powering cars. That rate of increase has overwhelmed the prior, slow pace of atmospheric changes between geologic eras. Watch in the visualization below how temperatures across the globe have crept upward since the late 19th century.

The 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the Phillipines released so much sunlight-reflecting ash that the warming trend briefly slowed in the mid-1990s.

The 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the Phillipines released so much sunlight-reflecting ash that the warming trend briefly slowed in the mid-1990s.

The years 2010 and 2005 remain tied for the hottest years, but they are only about 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than 2011, the ninth warmest year.

The years 2010 and 2005 remain tied for the hottest years, but they are only about 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than 2011, the ninth warmest year.

The colors represent how much the first and last years in the NASA record depart from the average temperature between 1951 and 1980.

The colors represent how much the first and last years in the NASA record depart from the average temperature between 1951 and 1980.

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Release date

This page was originally published on Thursday, February 2, 2012.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:53 PM EDT.