National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) along with an worldwide group of scientist from 62 countries presented a report on “the state of climate” that highlights that global heat, greenhouse gases and sea levels all rises to record highs past year.
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“By most measures, the 2015/16 El Niño was one of the strongest on record, on par with those of 1982/83 and 1997/98”, the report states.
It also revealed that global surface and sea temperatures were the highest since the mid-to-late 19th century, when detailed records were first kept.
It was the warmest year on record by a long way, with global average temperatures more than 1C higher than pre-industrial times. “This impacts people. This is real life”, said Jessica Blunden, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate scientist.
“Last year’s El Niño was a clear reminder of how short-term events can amplify the relative influence and impacts stemming from longer-term global warming trends”, said Karl.
In February, 2015, the maximum sea ice extent in the Arctic was 7 percent below the 1981-2010 average, and the smallest on record. Not only did this surpass 400 ppm for the first time, but its increase of 3.1 ppm on 2014 was the largest annual increase observed in the 58-year record.
The report blamed the record heat on the combined influence of long-term global warming and “one of the strongest El Nino events the globe has experienced since at least 1950”, concluding that 2015 continued to reflect trends of a warming planet. The three main contributors of greenhouse gases- carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)- also showed record-breaking rise in their concentration.
And global sea levels swelled to their highest point ever, about 70 millimeters (about 2.75 inches) higher than the 1993 average. Oceans absorb over 90 percent of Earth’s excess heat from global warming.
Over the past two decades, sea level has increased at an average rate of 3.3 mm per year, with the highest rates of increase in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, it said.
Global sea level highest on record.
All that warming is simmering the world’s oceans and melting ice caps and sea ice. Temperatures in the Arctic land surface averaged over the year tied for warmest on record with 2007 and 2011, 2.8 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) above temperature in the early 20th century.
More than half the surface of the Greenland ice sheet melted, for only the second time ever measured.
Soon after 2015 ended, it was proclaimed the hottest on record.
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Twelve countries, including Russian Federation and China, reported record-high annual temperatures. This was the fastest increase in carbon dioxide on record. These warm waters fueled much higher than normal global tropical cyclone activity.
