{"id":12250,"date":"2021-01-15T07:41:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T12:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/?p=12250"},"modified":"2021-01-15T07:42:22","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T12:42:22","slug":"2020-tied-for-the-hottest-year-on-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/2020-tied-for-the-hottest-year-on-record\/","title":{"rendered":"2020 tied for the hottest year on record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"286\" src=\"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/CVR-02-Photo-collage-climate-scenarios-global-climate-reports-NOAA-image-landscapes.jpg\" alt=\"Ace News Today - 2020 tied for the hottest year on record\" class=\"wp-image-12251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/CVR-02-Photo-collage-climate-scenarios-global-climate-reports-NOAA-image-landscapes.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/CVR-02-Photo-collage-climate-scenarios-global-climate-reports-NOAA-image-landscapes-300x143.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/CVR-02-Photo-collage-climate-scenarios-global-climate-reports-NOAA-image-landscapes-435x207.jpg 435w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption>(<em>2020 ties for Earth\u2019s hottest year on record, knocking 2019 down to third hottest, Image credit: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/news\/2020-was-earth-s-2nd-hottest-year-just-behind-2016\" target=\"_blank\">NOAA<\/a><\/em>)<br><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>2020 was one for the record books in several categories, the latest being that Earth\u2019s global average surface temperature in 2020 tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record, according to an analysis by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NASA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continuing the planet\u2019s long-term warming trend, the year\u2019s globally averaged temperature was 1.84 degrees Fahrenheit (1.02 degrees Celsius) warmer than the baseline 1951-1980 mean, according to scientists at NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giss.nasa.gov\/\">Goddard Institute for Space Studies<\/a> (GISS) in New York. 2020 edged out 2016 by a very small amount, within the margin of error of the analysis, making the years effectively tied for the warmest year on record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>\u201cThe last seven years have been the warmest seven years on record, typifying the ongoing and dramatic warming trend,\u201d said GISS Director\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.giss.nasa.gov\/staff\/gschmidt\/\">Gavin Schmidt<\/a>. \u201cWhether one year is a record or not is not really that important \u2013 the important things are long-term trends. With these trends, and as the human impact on the climate increases, we have to expect that records will continue to be broken.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Warming, Changing World<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracking global temperature trends provides a critical indicator of the impact of human activities \u2013 specifically, greenhouse gas emissions \u2013 on our planet. Earth’s average temperature has risen more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rising temperatures are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/effects\/\">causing<\/a>\u00a0phenomena such as loss of sea ice and ice sheet mass, sea level rise, longer and more intense heat waves, and shifts in plant and animal habitats. Understanding such long-term climate trends is essential for the safety and quality of human life, allowing humans to adapt to the changing environment in ways such as planting different crops, managing our water resources and preparing for extreme weather events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ranking the Records<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/news\/2020-was-earth-s-2nd-hottest-year-just-behind-2016\">separate, independent analysis<\/a> by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/\">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a> (NOAA) concluded that 2020 was the second-warmest year in their record, behind 2016. NOAA scientists use much of the same raw temperature data in their analysis, but have a different baseline period (1901-2000) and methodology. Unlike NASA, NOAA also does not infer temperatures in polar regions lacking observations, which accounts for much of the difference between NASA and NOAA records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like all scientific data, these temperature findings contain a small amount of uncertainty \u2013 in this case, mainly due to changes in weather station locations and temperature measurement methods over time. The GISS temperature analysis (GISTEMP) is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/data.giss.nasa.gov\/gistemp\/uncertainty\/\">accurate to within<\/a>\u00a00.1 degrees Fahrenheit with a 95 percent confidence level for the most recent period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Beyond a Global, Annual Average<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>While the long-term trend of warming continues, a variety of events and factors contribute to any particular year\u2019s average temperature. Two separate events changed the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth\u2019s surface. The Australian bush fires during the first half of the year burned 46 million acres of land, releasing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/earthobservatory.nasa.gov\/images\/146235\/australian-smoke-plume-sets-records?src=eoa-iotd\">smoke<\/a>\u00a0and other particles more than\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/langley\/nasa-s-sage-iii-instrument-observes-aerosol-spike-from-australian-fires\">18 miles high<\/a>\u00a0in the atmosphere, blocking sunlight and likely cooling the atmosphere slightly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In contrast, global shutdowns related to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2020\/nasa-model-reveals-how-much-covid-related-pollution-levels-deviated-from-the-norm\">reduced<\/a>\u00a0particulate air pollution in many areas, allowing more sunlight to reach the surface and producing a small but potentially significant warming effect. These shutdowns also appear to have reduced the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions last year, but overall CO2 concentrations continued to increase, and since warming is related to cumulative emissions, the overall amount of avoided warming will be minimal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"517\" height=\"290\" src=\"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Inline-Extreme-Fire-Activity.jpg\" alt=\"Ace News Today - 2020 tied for the hottest year on record\" class=\"wp-image-12253\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Inline-Extreme-Fire-Activity.jpg 517w, https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Inline-Extreme-Fire-Activity-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Inline-Extreme-Fire-Activity-435x244.jpg 435w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 517px) 100vw, 517px\" \/><figcaption><em>Extreme fire activity was seen above Australia from the International Space Station in January 2020.<\/em><br><em>Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The largest source of year-to-year variability in global temperatures typically comes from the <a href=\"https:\/\/earthobservatory.nasa.gov\/features\/ElNino\">El Nino-Southern Oscillation<\/a> (ENSO), a naturally occurring cycle of heat exchange between the ocean and atmosphere. While the year has ended in a <a href=\"https:\/\/earthobservatory.nasa.gov\/images\/147703\/the-cooler-sister-returns\">negative (cool) phase<\/a> of ENSO, it started in a slightly positive (warm) phase, which marginally increased the average overall temperature. The cooling influence from the negative phase is expected to have a larger influence on 2021 than 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>\u201cThe previous record warm year, 2016, received a significant boost from a strong El Nino. The lack of a similar assist from El Nino this year is evidence that the background climate continues to warm due to greenhouse gases,\u201d Schmidt said.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2020 GISS values represent surface temperatures averaged over both the whole globe and the entire year. Local weather plays a role in regional temperature variations, so not every region on Earth experiences similar amounts of warming even in a record year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncei.noaa.gov\/news\/national-climate-202012\">According to NOAA<\/a>, parts of the continental United States experienced record high temperatures in 2020, while others did not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the long term, parts of the globe are also warming faster than others. Earth\u2019s warming trends are most pronounced in the Arctic, which the GISTEMP analysis shows is warming more than three times as fast as the rest of the globe over the past 30 years, according to Schmidt. The loss of Arctic sea ice \u2013 whose annual minimum area is <a href=\"https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/vital-signs\/arctic-sea-ice\/\">declining<\/a> by about 13 percent per decade \u2013 makes the region <a href=\"http:\/\/nsidc.org\/soac\/air-temperatures-more-information\">less reflective<\/a>, meaning more sunlight is absorbed by the oceans and temperatures rise further still. This phenomenon, known as Arctic amplification, is driving further sea ice loss, <a href=\"https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/news\/2958\/greenland-antarctica-melting-six-times-faster-than-in-the-1990s\/\">ice sheet melt<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/specials\/sea-level-rise-2020\/\">sea level rise<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/news\/2902\/nasa-studies-how-arctic-wildfires-change-the-world\/\">more intense Arctic fire seasons<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/news\/2785\/unexpected-future-boost-of-methane-possible-from-arctic-permafrost\/\">permafrost melt<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"373\" src=\"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Inline-Temperature-anomalies-plot.jpg\" alt=\"Ace News Today - 2020 tied for the hottest year on record\" class=\"wp-image-12252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Inline-Temperature-anomalies-plot.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Inline-Temperature-anomalies-plot-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Inline-Temperature-anomalies-plot-435x270.jpg 435w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption>Plot shows yearly temperature anomalies from 1880 to 2019, Image credit: <em>NASA GISS\/Gavin Schmidt<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/thumbnails\/image\/temp-2020_comparison-plot.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Land, Sea, Air and Space<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA\u2019s analysis incorporates surface temperature measurements from more than 26,000 weather stations and thousands of ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures. These raw measurements are analyzed using an algorithm that considers the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and urban heating effects that could skew the conclusions if not taken into account. The result of these calculations is an estimate of the global average temperature difference from a baseline period of 1951 to 1980.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA measures Earth’s vital signs from land, air, and space with a fleet of satellites, as well as airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. The satellite surface temperature record from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (<a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.giss.nasa.gov\/abs\/su00200u.html\">AIRS<\/a>) instrument aboard NASA\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/aura.gsfc.nasa.gov\/\">Aura<\/a>\u00a0satellite confirms the GISTEMP results of the past seven years being the warmest on record.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2021\/the-climate-events-of-2020-show-how-excess-heat-is-expressed-on-earth\">Satellite measurements of air temperature, sea surface temperature, and sea levels, as well as other space-based observations, also reflect a warming, changing world.<\/a>\u00a0The agency develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. NASA shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA\u2019s full surface temperature data set \u2013 and the complete methodology used to make the temperature calculation \u2013 are available<a href=\"https:\/\/data.giss.nasa.gov\/gistemp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more on 2020 being tied for the hottest year on record, see the video accompanying this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Source: NASA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NASA Finds 2020 Tied for Hottest Year on Record\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ni0lppUr_BQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today \/ <\/em> Follow Richard on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/richard.webster.31\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/em><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rdwebster\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em><strong>Twitter<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Human impact, greenhouse gas emissions, the Australian bush fires and El-Nino helped influence the 2020 global temps<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,1321,462,1538,11,6678,461],"tags":[1479,7318,2401,7317,7319,36,2402,7320],"class_list":["post-12250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-environment","category-science","category-technology","category-top-news","category-video","category-weather","tag-climate-change","tag-enso","tag-giss","tag-greenhouse-gas-emissions","tag-hottest-years-on-record","tag-nasa","tag-noaa","tag-the-australian-bush-fires","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12255,"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12250\/revisions\/12255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acenewstoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}