Temperature Record 101: How We Know What We Know

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  • 
    ID: 14407 Produced Video

    NASA Summer 2023 Temperature Media Resources

    Sept. 14th, 2023
    (updated Sept. 21st, 2023)

    The summer of 2023 was Earth’s hottest since global records began in 1880, according to an analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) in New York.The months of June, July, and August combined were 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit (0.23 degrees Celsius) warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record, and 2.1 degrees F (1.2 C) warmer than the average summer between 1951 and 1980. August alone was 2.2 F (1.2 C) warmer than the average. June through August is considered meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere. This new record comes as exceptional heat swept across much of the world, exacerbating deadly wildfires in Canada and Hawaii, and searing heat waves in South America, Japan, Europe, and the U.S., while likely contributing to severe rainfall in Italy, Greece, and Central Europe.NASA assembles its temperature record, known as GISTEMP, from surface air temperature data acquired by tens of thousands of meteorological stations, as well as sea surface temperature data from ship- and buoy-based instruments. This raw data is analyzed using methods that account for the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and for urban heating effects that could skew the calculations. ||

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  • 
    ID: 14268 Produced Video

    NASA and NOAA Interview Opportunity: The numbers are in! See Where 2022 Ranks for Hottest Year on Record

    Jan. 6th, 2023
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    Associated cut b-roll for the live shots will be posted by Wednesday, Jan 11 with the exception of the new graphic showing the global temperature data for 2022 which is embargoed until 11:00 a.m. EST on Jan 12 ||

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  • 
    ID: 14066 Produced Video

    Temperature Record 101: How We Know What We Know

    Jan. 13th, 2022
    (updated Sept. 13th, 2023)

    2021 was tied for the sixth warmest year on NASA’s record, stretching more than a century. But, what is a temperature record?GISTEMP, NASA’s global temperature analysis, takes in millions of observations from instruments on weather stations, ships and ocean buoys, and Antarctic research stations, to determine how much warmer or cooler Earth is on average from year to year.Stretching back to 1880, NASA’s record shows a clear warming trend. However, individual weather events and La Niña — a pattern of cooler waters in the Pacific that was responsible for slightly cooling 2021’s average temperature — can affect individual years.Because the record is global, not every place on Earth experienced the sixth warmest year on record. Some places had record-high temperatures, and we saw record droughts, floods and fires around the globe. ||

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  • 
    ID: 14069 Produced Video

    The Numbers Are In: Where Does 2021 Rank for Global Temperatures Live Shots

    Jan. 12th, 2022
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    Quick link to latest release: 2021 Tied for 6th Warmest Year in Continued Trend, NASA Analysis ShowsQuick link to announcement soundbite with Dr. Gavin Schmidt***** Quick link to latest graphic showing the 2021 global temperature update. ******Quick link to associated B-ROLL for questions 2-6 on the advisoryQuick link to canned interview with Dr. Gavin SchmidtNote that the new graphic showing the 2021 average will be released Thursday, Jan 13 at 11 a.m. EST**Click here for information about the NASA NOAA announcement on Thursday, Jan 13 at 11:00 a.m. EST ||

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    ID: 5060 Visualization

    Global Temperature Anomalies from 1880 to 2022

    Jan. 12th, 2023
    (updated Sept. 27th, 2023)

    This color-coded map in Robinson projection displays a progression of changing global surface temperature anomalies. Normal temperatures are shown in white. Higher than normal temperatures are shown in red and lower than normal temperatures are shown in blue. Normal temperatures are calculated over the 30 year baseline period 1951-1980. The final frame represents the 5 year global temperature anomalies from 2018-2022. ||

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  • 
    ID: 4964 Visualization

    Global Temperature Anomalies from 1880 to 2021

    Jan. 13th, 2022
    (updated Sept. 21st, 2023)

    This color-coded map in Robinson projection displays a progression of changing global surface temperature anomalies. Normal temperatures are shown in white. Higher than normal temperatures are shown in red and lower than normal temperatures are shown in blue. Normal temperatures are calculated over the 30 year baseline period 1951-1980. The final frame represents the 5 year global temperature anomalies from 2017-2021. Scale in degrees Fahrenheit. ||

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  • 
    ID: 4962 Visualization

    Concentration Increase of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)

    Jan. 12th, 2022
    (updated Sept. 29th, 2023)

    Timeplot of increase of atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) concentrations relative to the pre-industrial CO2 long-term mean value of 278ppm. During 2021, atmospheric CO2 concentrations reached a record-level increase of 50% relative to pre-industrial CO2 levels. ||

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  • 
    ID: 4961 Visualization

    Temperature Measurement Stations

    Dec. 25th, 2021
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    Weather stations currently used in the GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (v4). The size of the station markers is varied to reduce overplotting and is not indicative of any properties of that station. ||

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