The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that 2013 ranked in a tie (with 2003) for the 4th hottest year of globally averaged temperature in records going back to 1880. To look at recent trends, I made a spreadsheet from the NOAA data set and put the years in rank order by temperature. I’ve pasted the results for the 20 hottest years on record since 1880 just below; as you look at the data, please pay particular attention to the following facts:
- There have been 13 years since 2000 (the years 2001 through 2013), and all 13 are among the 15 hottest years on record.
- Not a single one of the 20 hottest years comes from before 1990.
- If you do the calculations, you’ll see that these data show that we have just experienced the hottest 5-year period, the hottest 10-year period, the hottest 15-year period, and the hottest 20-year period since the records have been kept.
Perhaps you’ve heard some people claiming that “global warming has stopped.” Well, as I like to say, it’s easy to argue endlessly as long as you don’t let any actual facts get in the way. But the facts are clear, and anyone who claims that these data point to a cessation of global warming is simply ignoring the obvious. If you have further questions about global warming, please review my global warming primer — and especially consider what you will say to your children and grandchildren who will be living in a world with far worse weather problems unless we act now to do something to help.
|
Rank |
Year |
°C above 20th century average |
same in °F |
|
1 |
2010 |
0.66 |
1.18 |
|
2 |
2005 |
0.65 |
1.17 |
|
3 |
1998 |
0.63 |
1.14 |
|
4 |
2013 |
0.62 |
1.12 |
|
5 |
2003 |
0.62 |
1.12 |
|
6 |
2002 |
0.61 |
1.10 |
|
7 |
2006 |
0.60 |
1.07 |
|
8 |
2009 |
0.59 |
1.07 |
|
9 |
2007 |
0.59 |
1.06 |
|
10 |
2004 |
0.57 |
1.03 |
|
11 |
2012 |
0.57 |
1.03 |
|
12 |
2001 |
0.55 |
0.99 |
|
13 |
2011 |
0.53 |
0.96 |
|
14 |
1997 |
0.52 |
0.93 |
|
15 |
2008 |
0.51 |
0.92 |
|
16 |
1999 |
0.46 |
0.82 |
|
17 |
1995 |
0.45 |
0.81 |
|
18 |
2000 |
0.43 |
0.77 |
|
19 |
1990 |
0.40 |
0.72 |
|
20 |
1991 |
0.38 |
0.68 |
Excellent work on this Jeffrey! The recent cold weather in the central and eastern United States has served up many “talking points” for skeptics and those unconvinced that our world is warming. People need to remember that weather is to climate as one play in a football game is to the history of the NFL.
Just because it is night, does not mean the Sun has gone away and just because we have a regional cold snap (in the middle of winter), does not mean the world is not warming!