World of Change | world temperature
AirtemperaturesonEarthhavebeenrisingsincetheIndustrialRevolution.Whilenaturalvariabilityplayssomepart,thepreponderanceofevidence[1]indicatesthathumanactivities—particularlyemissionsofheat-trappinggreenhousegases—aremostlyresponsible[2]formakingourplanetwarmer.Accordingtoanongoingtemperatureanalysis[3]ledbyscientistsatNASA’sGoddardInstituteforSpaceStudies(GISS),theaverageglobaltemperatureonEarthhasincreasedbyatleast1.1°Celsius(1.9°Fahrenheit)since1880.Themajorityofthewarminghasoccurredsince19...
Air temperatures on Earth have been rising since the Industrial Revolution. While natural variability plays some part, the preponderance of evidence[1] indicates that human activities—particularly emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases—are mostly responsible[2] for making our planet warmer.
According to an ongoing temperature analysis[3] led by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by at least 1.1° Celsius (1.9° Fahrenheit) since 1880. The majority of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15 to 0.20°C per decade.
The maps above show temperature anomalies in five-year increments since 1880. (Click on the arrow to run the animation.) These are not absolute temperatures, but c...