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NASA Earth Observatory

Annual Global Temperature Records

Scientists at NASA report each year on the long-term trend of rising air temperatures over Earth’s land and sea surfaces. The team assembles its analysis with publicly available data from roughly 6,300 meteorological stations, ship and buoy-based observations, and Antarctic research stations.
Five Factors to Explain the Record Heat in 2023
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Five Factors to Explain the Record Heat in 2023

What caused the year to be so hot? Here is a breakdown of the primary factors that scientists considered.

Published Jan 12, 2024

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Water Human Presence Remote Sensing Temperature Extremes

2022 Tied for Fifth Warmest Year on Record
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2022 Tied for Fifth Warmest Year on Record

Earth in 2022 was about 1.11°C (2°F) warmer than the late 19th century average.

Published Jan 12, 2023

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Water Human Presence Remote Sensing Temperature Extremes

2021 Continued Earth’s Warming Trend
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2021 Continued Earth’s Warming Trend

The past eight years have been the warmest in the global record.

Published Jan 13, 2022

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Water Human Presence Remote Sensing Temperature Extremes

2020 Tied for Warmest Year on Record
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2020 Tied for Warmest Year on Record

Earth’s average temperature has risen more than 1.2°C (2°F) since the late 19th century.

Published Jan 14, 2021

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Remote Sensing Temperature Extremes

2019 Was the Second Warmest Year on Record
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2019 Was the Second Warmest Year on Record

The past five years have been the warmest of the past 140 years.

Published Jan 15, 2020

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Water Human Presence Remote Sensing Temperature Extremes

2018 Was the Fourth Warmest Year, Continuing Long Warming Trend
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2018 Was the Fourth Warmest Year, Continuing Long Warming Trend

The past five years have been the warmest years in the modern record, and 18 of the 19 warmest years have occurred since 2000.

Published Feb 6, 2019

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Human Presence Remote Sensing Temperature Extremes

2017 Was the Second Hottest Year on Record
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2017 Was the Second Hottest Year on Record

Globally averaged temperatures were 0.90 degrees Celsius (1.62 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the long-term mean.

Published Jan 18, 2018

Image of the Day Heat Human Presence Temperature Extremes

Global Temperature Record Broken for Third Consecutive Year
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Global Temperature Record Broken for Third Consecutive Year

The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 1.1°C (2.0°F) since the late 19th century.

Published Jan 19, 2017

Image of the Day Heat Temperature Extremes

2015 Was the Hottest Year on Record
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2015 Was the Hottest Year on Record

Long-term climate change got a boost from the developing El Niño and obliterated previous records.

Published Jan 21, 2016

Image of the Day Heat Temperature Extremes

2014 Was the Warmest Year in the Modern Record
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2014 Was the Warmest Year in the Modern Record

Separate analyses by NASA and NOAA agree that the past year was hotter than any other since 1880. The ten warmest years in the instrumental record, with the exception of 1998, have now occurred since 2000.

Published Jan 17, 2015

Image of the Day Heat Temperature Extremes

2013 Continued the Long-Term Warming Trend
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2013 Continued the Long-Term Warming Trend

The GISS Land-Ocean Temperature Index put 2013 into the top ten warmest years in the global record, even though temperatures in the United States were not much warmer than usual.

Published Jan 22, 2014

Image of the Day Heat Human Presence Temperature Extremes

Global Temperature Anomaly, 1880–2013
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Global Temperature Anomaly, 1880–2013

A NASA research analysis shows how much warmer the Earth has grown compared to an averaged base period from 1951 to 1980.

Published Jan 21, 2014

Heat Temperature Extremes

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