Why is temperature rising

Even with a worldwide emphasis on reduced greenhouse emissions, temperatures continue to climb. An article in Science Daily recently noted that in March alone, more than 15, single-day warm temperature records were broken throughout the United States. Previous EHEs such as the massive heat wave that struck Southern California in have each been responsible for thousands of deaths and injuries; now, the NRDC projects that as many as , Americans will die due to climate change by the year Boschung, A.

Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P. Midgley eds. Fahey, K. Hibbard, D. Dokken, B. Stewart, and T. Maycock eds. We value your feedback Help us improve our content Your Email Address.

Security code. History of Earth's temperature since Earth's temperature history as a roller coaster. Temperature - Global Yearly, Difference from Average. Here are the instructions of how to enable JavaScript in your browser. A wide range of other observations such as reduced Arctic sea ice extent and increased ocean heat content and indications from the natural world such as poleward shifts of temperature-sensitive species of fish, mammals, insects, etc.

Figure 1a. The clearest evidence for surface warming comes from widespread thermometer records that, in some places, extend back to the late 19th century.

Today, temperatures are monitored at many thousands of locations, over both the land and ocean surface. Data from the early 20 th century are somewhat less precise than more recent data because there were fewer stations collecting measurements at the time, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. The overall trends are still reliable, however. Where possible, the data have been adjusted to account for any biases that might be introduced by factors such as station moves, urbanization near the station, changes in measuring instruments, and changes in the exact times at which measurements are taken.

The surface temperature anomalies shown here were calculated based on monthly values from a network of long-term monitoring stations.

Global Change Research Program. Wuebbles, D. Fahey, K. Hibbard, D. Dokken, B. Stewart, and T. Maycock eds. Climate at a glance. Accessed February Skip to main content. Climate Change Indicators.