2015 Global Temperature Data

Earth's 2015 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880, continuing a long-term warming trend, according to analyses by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York (GISTEMP).   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. The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1.0 degree Celsius) since the late-19th century, a change largely driven by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 15 of the 16 warmest years on record occurring since 2001.

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Live Shot Interviews and B-roll

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    NASA/NOAA 2015 Global Temperature Live Shots
    2016.01.20
    NASA/NOAA to Report Ranking of 2015’s Global Temperatures on Wednesday Jan. 20th

    In many parts of the United States, 2015 was a year of extremes, especially in December: unseasonably warm weather along the East Coast, devastating floods in the Midwest and massive El Nino strengthening in the Pacific Ocean. It ranked as the second warmest ever for the United States, but where did 2015 rank globally?

    NASA and NOAA scientists are available on Wed. January 20th between 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. to tell your viewers where 2015 ranks globally, what’s driving these warmer temperatures and what scientists are doing to better understand the long-term trends of a warming planet.

    Nine of the ten warmest years on record have all occurred this century. NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites, airborne missions and field campaigns are helping scientists better understand how Earth is changing as greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming, build in the atmosphere. Just last month, world leaders came together to set limits on carbon dioxide emissions to keep global temperatures from rising higher. Even a small increase in temperature has major implications for our planet, from melting ice at the poles to increased chances for extreme droughts and floods like those seen across the U.S. last year.

    **** To Book a Window *** Contact: Michelle Handleman at michelle.z.handleman@nasa.gov / (301) 633-5135 cell

    Suggested questions:

    1. NASA and NOAA just released data about 2015. Tell us where 2015 ranks among the warmest years on record?

    2. How does what we saw in the U.S. in 2015 relate to the broader global picture?

    3. How do we see these changes from space and the ground?

    4. What are we doing to understand the long-term trend?

    5. Where can we learn more?

    Live shot details:

    Location: Goddard Space Flight Center/ Greenbelt, MD

    Scientists:

    Dr. Jim Tucker / NASA Scientist —or—

    Dr. Steven Pawson / NASA Scientist —or—

    Deke Arndt / NOAA Scientist —or—

    Dr. Carlos Del Castillo / NASA Scientist [en Español]

    HD Satellite Coordinates for AMC16-K24: AMC-16 Ku-band Xp 24 Slot A18 | 85.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12171 MHz | Horizontal Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio Embedded

    Video: NASA will roll all insert videos during live interviews. If needed, stations can roll on a clean feed of all video at 11:15 am EST on Wednesday, Jan. 20th at the above listed satellite coordinates

Graphics

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    Five-Year Global Temperature Anomalies from 1880 to 2015
    2016.01.20
    NASA Finds 2014 Was Warmest Year in Modern Record The year 2014 ranks as Earth’s warmest since 1880, according to an analysis by NASA scientists. The 10 warmest years in the instrumental record, with the exception of 1998, have now occurred since 2000. This trend continues a long-term warming of the planet, according to an analysis of surface temperature measurements by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) in New York. In an independent analysis of the raw data, NOAA scientists also found 2014 to be the warmest on record. For understanding climate change, the long-term trend of rising temperatures across the planet is more important than any year’s individual ranking. These rankings can be sensitive to analysis methods and sampling. While 2014 ranks as the warmest year in NASA’s global temperature record, it is statistically close to the values from 2010 and 2005, the next warmest years. Since 1880, the average surface temperature of Earth has warmed by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius), a trend that is largely driven by the increase in carbon dioxide and other human emissions into the planet’s atmosphere. The majority of that warming has occurred in the past three decades. Regional differences in temperature in any year are more strongly affected by weather dynamics than the global mean. For example, in the U.S. in 2014, parts of the Midwest and East Coast were anomalously cool, while Alaska and three western U.S. states – California, Arizona and Nevada – recorded their warmest years on record, according to NOAA, which assesses official U.S. temperature records.

    The GISTEMP analysis website is located at: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/

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    Global Temperature Anomalies from November 2014
    2016.01.20
    Residents of the eastern United States know that the temperature was colder then the average temperature in November 2014. This data visualization of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Global temperature anomalies for January of 2014 show the United States and then zooms out to show the global picture. Temperature anomalies indicate how much warmer or colder it is than normal for a particular place and time. For more information on the GISTEMP, see the GISTEMP analysis website located at: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/
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    Annual Global Temperature, 1880-2015
    2016.01.20
    Graph of annual global temperatures, with respect to a baseline from the 19th century (the average of global annual temperatures from 1880-1899). In Fahrenheit.

Multimedia Products

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    Gavin Schmidt on 2015's Record Global Temperature
    2016.01.20
    Earth's 2015 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. 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. This record high temperature continues the long-term trend of increasing temperature, and brings us halfway to the 2°C ceiling agreed to at the 2015 UN Climate Conference in Paris. In these videos, NASA scientist Gavin Schmidt speaks directly about the data and what it means.