The average temperature of the Earth’s surface in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth-hottest temperature ever recorded, according to a NASA analysis. According to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), global temperatures in 2022, continuing the planet’s long-term warming trend, will be 0.89 degrees Celsius (1,92) above the average for NASA’s initial period (1951-1980). 6 degrees Fahrenheit).

The past nine years have been the warmest since 1880, when modern records began. This means that in 2022 the Earth is about 1.11°C (2°F) warmer than the average at the end of the 19th century.

The map above shows the global temperature anomalies in 2022. It does not show absolute temperatures; instead, it shows how hot or cold each region of the Earth was compared to the average from 1951 to 1980. The histogram below shows the year 2022 in the context of temperature anomalies since 1880. Values ​​represent average surface temperatures worldwide throughout the year.

“The warming trend is because human activities continue to release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and long-term planetary impacts continue,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of GISS, NASA’s leading climate modeling center.

Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions recovered after a brief decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, NASA scientists and international scientists determined that carbon dioxide emissions were the highest recorded in 2022. NASA also identified some super-emitters of methane (another potent greenhouse gas) using the Earth’s Surface Mineral Dust Resource Survey (EMIT) instrument. launched to the International Space Station last year.

The Arctic region continues to experience the strongest warming trends, about four times the global average, according to the GISS study presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union and a separate study.

Communities around the world are feeling the effects of what scientists believe is a warming atmosphere and ocean. Climate change has led to increased precipitation and tropical storms, increased droughts and increased storm surges. Last year brought heavy monsoons that devastated Pakistan and an ongoing mega-drought in the southwestern United States. In September, Hurricane Ian became one of the strongest and most costly hurricanes to hit the continental United States.

In fact, 2022 was the fifth warmest year on Earth since 1880, and the past 9 years have been the warmest on record. NASA is rethinking how heat is expressed differently around the world in 2022. Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s analysis of global temperatures is based on data collected by meteorological stations and Antarctic research stations, as well as instruments docked on ships and ocean buoys. NASA scientists analyze these measurements to account for inaccuracies in the data and maintain consistent methods for calculating the global mean surface temperature difference for each year. These ground-based surface temperature measurements are consistent with satellite data and other estimates collected since 2002 by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

NASA uses the period from 1951 to 1980 as a basis for understanding how global temperatures have changed over time. This baseline includes unusually hot or cold years due to climate patterns such as La Niña and El Niño, as well as other factors, allowing the Earth to catch natural temperature fluctuations.

Many factors can affect the average temperature in any given year. For example, 2022 was one of the warmest years on record despite the third consecutive year of La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific. NASA scientists estimate that the cooling effect of La Niña may have lowered global temperatures slightly (about 0.06 °C or 0.11 °F) compared to the average under more typical ocean conditions.

A separate independent analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded that global surface temperatures in 2022 were the sixth warmest since 1880. NOAA scientists use many of the same raw temperature data in their analysis and have a different baseline period (1901–2000) and methodology. While rankings for specific years differ slightly between records, they are generally consistent and both reflect ongoing long-term warming.