Earth  ID: 14066

Temperature Record 101: How We Know What We Know

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.
 

Source Material


Related


Credits

Kathryn Mersmann (KBR Wyle Services, LLC): Lead Producer
Katie Jepson (KBR Wyle Services, LLC): Lead Producer
Kathleen Gaeta (AIMM): Lead Producer
Roberto Molar-Candanosa (KBR Wyle Services, LLC): Lead Writer
Sofie Bates (KBR Wyle Services, LLC): Lead Writer
Peter H. Jacobs (NASA/GSFC): Lead Public Affairs Officer
Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC): Lead Visualizer
Mark SubbaRao (NASA/GSFC): Visualizer
Helen-Nicole Kostis (USRA): Visualizer
Alexander Bodnar (AIMM): Animator
Gavin A. Schmidt (NASA/GSFC GISS): Lead Scientist
Karen St. Germain (NASA): Scientist
Dalia B Kirschbaum (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Bridget N. Seegers (University of Maryland, Baltimore County): Scientist
Rachel Tilling (University of Maryland): Scientist
Elizabeth Hoy (GST): Scientist
Chris Neigh (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Lesley Ott (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14066

This item is part of this series:
Narrated Movies

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
DLESE >> Human geography
DLESE >> Hydrology
DLESE >> Natural hazards
SVS >> Temperature
SVS >> Temperature Trend
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators >> Drought Indices
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Natural Hazards >> Fires
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Hydrosphere >> Surface Water >> Floods
SVS >> Weather >> Climate Change
SVS >> Climate >> Temperature
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0