2014 hottest year on record: US scientists
According to US scientists, year 2014 was the hottest year on record, with global average temperature increasing about 0.8 degrees Celsius since 1880.
It was revealed by two separate analyses carried out by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Key outcomes
- 10 warmest years since records began in the 19th century have all been since 1997.
- In 2014, record temperatures were spread around the globe. It included most of Europe stretching into northern Africa, the western United States, far eastern Russia into western Alaska, parts of interior South America, parts of eastern and western coastal Australia and elsewhere.
- Recent trends of warming have been dominated by human emissions of greenhouse gases.
- Earlier, it was thought of chaotic weather patterns. But later it was considered that year-to-year fluctuations in average global temperature are caused by phenomena such as El Nino or La Nina.
- El Nino or La Nina phenomena generally warm or cool the tropical Pacific oceanic region and are thought to have played a role in the flattening of the long-term warming trend over the past 15 years.
- However, 2014’s record warmth occurred during an El Nino-neutral year.
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Month: Current Affairs - January, 2015