Global Warming

2015 Shatters Hottest Year Record

It’s official: 2015 was the hottest year on record, beating out 2014 by the widest margin in 136 years of record keeping, U.S. government agencies announced Wednesday. But this new record may not stand for long, as one of the strongest El Niños ever measured combines with the continued warming of the planet to potentially push 2016 to yet another record.

The year’s incredible heat serves as a stark reminder of how much the Earth’s temperature has risen due to the steady buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activities like power generation, transportation and forest clearing. That temperature reached the point in 2015 where it was 1°C (1.8°F) above that of the late 19th century at the same time as carbon dioxide levels likely permanently rose above 400 parts per million.

Both NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that 2015 easily took over the top spot from 2014. By NASA’s measure, 2015 was 0.23°F (0.13°C) warmer than 2014 — the second largest-ever jump from a previous record. By NOAA’s measure it was 1.62°F (0.9°C) above the 20th century average and the largest jump from a previous record, at 0.29°F (0.16°C) above 2014.

The oceans were one of the clear warm areas of the globe during the year, particularly the Indian Ocean and the tropical Pacific Ocean, which was under the influence of an incredibly strong El Niño. Record warmth was found in parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South Africa and North America. It was the second warmest year on record for the U.S., helped by an incredibly toasty December in the eastern half of the country.

While El Niño contributed to the record, a Climate Central analysis has shown that 2015’s high temperature was overwhelmingly the result of manmade warming.