In Brief:
Earth’s surface continues to significantly warm, with recent global temperatures being the hottest in the past 2,000-plus years.
This graph illustrates the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures. Nineteen of the hottest years have occurred since 2000, with the exception of 1998. The year 2020 tied with 2016 for the hottest year on record since record-keeping began in 1880 (source: NASA/GISS). This research is broadly consistent with similar constructions prepared by the Climatic Research Unit and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The time series below shows the five-year average variation of global surface temperatures. Dark blue indicates areas cooler than average. Dark red indicates areas warmer than average.
The “Global Temperature” figure on the home page dashboard shows global temperature change since 1880. One gets this number by subtracting the first data point in the chart from the latest data point.
