Global climate highlights for 2016 are sobering
A few weeks ago while I was away on vacation, NOAA released their annual State of the Climate <a href="https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/publications/bulletin-of-the-american-meteorological-society-bams/state-of-the-climate/" target=n>report</a>.
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Here is a breakdown of some of the highlights from 2016.........</strong>
--2016 surpassed 2015 as the warmest year on record. Records go back to 1880. Clearly, long-term warming and even a strong El Nino played a role in this impressive record.
<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x332_09061538_stateoftheclimate_2016_globalsurfacetemps_graph_large.png"/>
--Global sea surface temperatures were the warmest on record as a whole for 2016, beating out the previous record set in 2015.
Global sea surface temperature anomalies compared to the 1981-2010 average.
<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x332_09061542_stateoftheclimate_2016_ssta_map_large.png"/>
Global sea surface temperature anomalies since 1900. Multiple databases.
<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x332_09061545_stateoftheclimate_2016_ssta_graph_large.png"/>
--Upper ocean heat content was near a record high.
<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x332_09061547_stateoftheclimate_2016oceanheatcontent_graph_large.png"/>
--No surprise, global atmospheric CO2 concentration reached another record high in the official database, surpassing 402 ppm.
--Sea level over most of the oceans of the world experienced higher-than-average sea level compared to the 1993-2016 average. This is likely due to a combination of long-term sea level rise, regional storminess and natural climate variability.
Global sea level since the 1990s.
<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x332_09061550_stateoftheclimate_2016_sealevels_graph_large.png"/>
--Overall, average global sea level reached a record high for 2016 as meltwater from glaciers and ice sheets combined with the thermal expansion of ocean water due to warming.
--Speaking of glaciers, mountain based glaciers continue to see a steady decline in ice mass.
Glacier mass balance, the difference between ice lost through melting and ice gained through new snowfall.
<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x332_09061552_sotc_2016_glaciers_lrg.jpg"/>
--Finally, the number of extreme hot days continues to trend upward globally.
<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x332_09061556_hot.png"/>
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Images courtesy of NOAA.
