NOAA State of the Climate report shows highest-ever average surface temperatures
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported 2015 as Earth’s warmest year on record by a wide margin. The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for 2015 was the highest among all years since record keeping began in 1880, according to the report. During the final month, the December combined global land and ocean average surface temperature was the highest on record for any month in the 136-year record.
During 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.62°F (0.90°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest among all 136 years in the 1880-2015 record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.29°F (0.16°C) and marking the fourth time a global temperature record has been set this century. This is also the largest margin by which the annual global temperature record has been broken. Ten months had record high temperatures for their respective months during the year. The five highest monthly departures from average for any month on record all occurred during 2015.