TAMPA, Fla. — The Earth's average surface temperature last year tied 2015 for the fifth warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA.
The average surface temperature on Earth warmed 0.89 degrees celsius above the average for NASA's baseline period (1951- 1980). 2022's warming trends continued the trend of the past nine years, which have been the warmest years since modern recordkeeping began in 1880.
Put another way, NASA said in 2022 the Earth was about 1.11 degrees Celsius warmer than the average of the late 19th century.
At least 28 countries, including China and the United Kingdom, set national records for hottest years on record. Scientists expect this year to be even warmer and next year could shatter records.
“The reason for the warming trend is that human activities continue to pump enormous amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and the long-term planetary impacts will also continue,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of GISS, NASA's leading center for climate modeling.
The temperature could have been higher if not for a third consecutive year of La Niña. NASA said the La Niña may have lowered temperatures by about 0.06 degrees Celsius from what the temperature would have been without the ocean temperature phenomenon.
According to NASA scientists, human-driven greenhouse gas emissions have risen after a short-lived dip in 2020 that happened as people traveled less due to the pandemic. NASA scientists, along with international scientists, found carbon dioxide emissions were the highest on record in 2022.
When it comes to the area seeing the strongest warming trends, it was once again the Arctic region. Researchers from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies found temperatures in the Arctic were warming at a rate close to four times the global average.
