2014 was the warmest year since measurements began in 1880, according to separate reports from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NASA notes that contrary to claims that global warming has “stopped,” the ten warmest years since 1880 have occurred within the past fifteen years, excluding 1998. Also mentioned is the 1.4 degree F. rise in the earth’s average surface temperature since 1880, of which the majority of the rise has occurred in the past 30 years.
The studies were conducted with the surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations across the globe to establish an average temperature, compared to a baseline established representing the temperature data from 1951-1980. The scientists also note that even though 2014 was the warmest year recorded yet, fluctuations from weather phenomena are still likely to affect data and the state of the climate in the future.
"The long-term trends are attributable drivers of climate change that right now are dominated by human emissions of greenhouse gases," says Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Sciences.
