State of the Climate report
NOAA just released their "State of the Climate" report for 2015 in the American Meteorological Society journal.
The report confirms that 2015 was the warmest year on record (land/ocean surface combined) since at least the mid-to-late 19th century, which surpasses the previous record set in 2014. Over 450 scientists contributed to this peer-reviewed report.
Other highlights from the report include......
1. Atmospheric CO2 concentration surpassed the 400 ppm level for the first time at Mauna Loa Observatory.
2. Global upper ocean heat content for 2015 was the highest on record, surpassing 2014.
3. Global sea surface temperature was the highest on record, beating the previous record set in 2014.
4. Global sea level reached a record high. The level for 2015 was on average 2.75 inches higher than what it was in 1993 when satellite record keeping of sea level rise began.
5. Global tropical cyclone count was well above average with a total of 101. The 1981-2010 average is 82.
6. Maximum Arctic sea ice extent in the Arctic was the lowest in the satellite record. The minimum extent in September was the 4th lowest on record.
7. Antarctic temperatures averaged below normal, while Antarctic sea ice extent was highly variable with a record high and record low extent occurring in the same year.
8. Last year likely joins 2003 as one of the two highest losses of mountain glacier ice in the 36-year record.
9. Last year also broke the record for the percent of extremely warm days.
-------
Images courtesy of NOAA.
Report a Typo
