Previous year was Earth’s hottest in modern times, by far – USA scientists

The report added that since 1997, which at the time was the hottest year on record, 16 of the following 18 years have each been warmer than that year.

US space agency NASA, which used much of the same raw temperature data, but different analyzing methods, said globally-averaged temperatures in 2015 shattered the previous mark set in 2014 by 0.13 degrees Celsius.

Besides, the five highest monthly departures from average for any month on record all occurred past year. Last year’s average temperatures eclipsed the previous record year, which was – you guessed it – 2014.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in December, the combined global land and ocean average surface temperatures in 2015 were the highest for any month on record.

“Today’s announcement not only underscores how critical NASA’s Earth observation program is”, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in today’s press release.

NOAA said 2015’s temperature was 58.62 degrees Fahrenheit (14.79 degrees Celsius), passing 2014 by a record margin of 0.29 degrees.

And then the year was capped off with a powerful El Nino event that led to unseasonably warm storms during the holiday season, including the appearance of Hurricane Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere.

“It’s getting to the point where breaking record is the norm”, Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe said. Few months ago, scientists started predicting a global temperature record because of the El Niño weather pattern, one of the largest in a century. Austria also observed its second warmest year as did Germany.

NOAA says it release it monthly and annual reports to help organizations, government agencies, companies and people plan for climate.

2015 was a record-shattering year in many ways, one of which is the year’s jarring temperature as the hottest 365 days in historical record.

That is 1.24 degrees above the 20th century average of 57 degrees Fahrenheit.

“What this study let’s us do is look at how the whole globe, place to place, is changing, and put that picture together with the understanding of climate to take us away from our day to day experience of living in Providence to see what the whole world is doing”, said Herbert. “These environmental changes need to be considered in all aspects of planning and management”. It is true that El Niño assisted the rise in global mean temperatures but even in its absence 2015 would be the hottest year ever.