2014 reported as the warmest year on record
Climate scientists at NOAA and NASA announced Friday that 2014 was the hottest year in 134 years of record keeping, with NOAA reporting annual global temperatures as 1.24F or 0.69C above the 20 th century average.
NOAA and NASA data both show that 2014 surpasses 2010 as the warmest year on record and clearly connect the record warming to the climate change that has resulted from man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
The head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Manhattan, Dr. Gavin A. Schmidt, reiterated this connection saying, “Greenhouse gas trends are responsible for most of the trend that we see.”
Six out of 12 months last year tied or topped previous monthly global temperature records. Record warmth was particularly acute in the oceans, with seven consecutive months – May through November – setting new records for surface ocean heat.
Most importantly, 2014 sets the new global temperature record in the absence of an El Nio, a phenomenon which raises global surface temperature. Many of the previous hottest years on record have occurred during El Nio years, including 2010 and 2005, which now share the record for second hottest year.
As for the U.S., 2014 saw five new monthly heat records and was the 18th year in a row where the nationwide annual temperature average was hotter than usual. Alaska, Arizona, California, and Nevada each had their warmest year on record.
Notably, California’s annual average temperature was an amazing 2.3C or 4.1F above the 20th century average, shattering the old record of 1.3C or 2.3F by 1C.
The record heat in 2014 is just the latest milestone in a decades-long trend as global warming turns up the heat at an alarming rate.
February 1985 was the last month where global temperature fell below the 20th century monthly average, making December 2014 the 358th consecutive month where the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was above average. Each of the last three decades has been much warmer than the decade before and no one born since 1976 has experienced a colder than average year.
2014 was also a landmark year for climate action and momentum continues into 2015. This is expected to be a pivotal year in the fight against global warming, with negotiations in Paris in December aimed at reaching a global agreement on climate change.
Experts say one thing is certain, if the world does not act immediately to curb greenhouse gas emissions, we can expect more record high temperatures in years to come.
