2016 Was the Warmest Year on Record

  • Released Wednesday, January 18, 2017
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2016 was the hottest year on record, continuing a decades-long warming trend. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) analyzed measurements from 6,300 locations and found that Earth’s average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late-19th century, largely a result of human emissions into the atmosphere. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) separately analyzed the data and came to the same conclusion.

For more information: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-noaa-data-show-2016-warmest-year-on-record-globally

Eight of the 12 months – from January through September, with the exception of June – were the hottest of those respective months on record. October, November and December of 2016 were the second hottest of those months on record – in all three cases, behind records set in 2015.

Music credit: In Dreams We Trust by Chris White [PRS] and Guy Hatfield [PRS]

Complete transcript available.

Most of the globe’s warming has occurred in the last 35 years. Sixteen of the last 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001.

Most of the globe’s warming has occurred in the last 35 years. Sixteen of the last 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001.

NASA scientists analyze data from Antarctic research stations, sea surface temperature measurements and weather stations, all to determine how the average surface temperature is changing.

Music credit: Face Time by David Edwards [ASCAP]

Complete transcript available.

Credits

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Wednesday, January 18, 2017.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:48 PM EDT.

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