Scientists Say 2015 Was The Hottest Year EVER

The past year was the hottest year on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. It surpassed the previous record (2014) by 0.29°F, marking the fourth time a global temperature record has been shattered in the new century. The agency reports Earth’s average surface temperatures have risen 1.8°F since the late 19th century.

FILE – In this August 15, 2015 file photo, pedestrians walk past a digital thermometer reading 113 degrees Fahrenheit in the Canoga Park section of Los Angeles.

According to the NOAA 2015 global temperatures data released on Wednesday, Jan.20, the Earth’s temperature a year ago surpassed 2014 by a whopping 0.29 degrees at 14.79°C or (58.62°F).

Not only were the year’s temperatures the highest ever recorded, but the annual average also surpassed the previous temperature high by the largest margin, NOAA 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.

In a statement, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that climate change is a great problem in today’s world and the agency plays an important task on this matter.

If that happens, it will be the first time in the 136-year record that three record-breaking hot years have occurred in a row. Schmidt adds, “The reason this is such a record warm year is the long-term underlying trend and there is no evidence that long term trend has slowed, paused or hiatused at any point in the past two decades”.

Last year was the hottest year on record, and 2016 looks to be even hotter.

NASA has said that the temperature changes have been majorly driven by increased carbon dioxide and other human-released emissions.

Regions that have been feeling the brunt of warmer temperatures include the Eastern U.S., the Caribbean, Central and northern South America, and Western Europe.

“Because it’s starting with a very strong El Niño and will kind of build during the year, 2016 is expected to be an exceptionally warm year and perhaps a record”, said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

But Karl said El Nino, a cyclical phenomenon, was probably not responsible for 2015 temperatures setting a record. The report also said that the period of 2011-2015 has been the hottest five year period.