UNITED STATES: The average Earth surface temperature in 2022 matched with 2015 as the fifth-highest on record, according to a NASA study.
NASA unveils 5th warmest year on record
Experts at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York say that in 2022, global temperatures were 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.89 degrees Celsius) higher than the average for the reference period 1951–1980. This continued the planet’s long-term warming trend.
This warming trend is concerning, according to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
“As a result of our changing climate, sea levels are rising, hurricanes are becoming more powerful, droughts are causing havoc, and forest fires are getting worse. NASA reiterates its commitment to supporting efforts to combat climate change,” Nelson said.
The past nine years have been the warmest on record going back to the beginning of modern recordkeeping in 1880.
The study concluded that this would mean that the average temperature on Earth in 2022 would be 1.11 degrees Celsius, or about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, higher than it was in the late 19th century.
According to Gavin Schmidt, the head of GISS, “The warming trend is linked to human activities continuing to pump massive volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and the long-term planetary ramifications will likewise continue.”
After a temporary dip in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, human-induced greenhouse gas emissions have risen, according to the research.
NASA scientists have found that carbon dioxide emissions in 2022 was the highest ever seen, as per a research.
According to the report, NASA used the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation apparatus that was transported to the International Space Station last year to pinpoint some methane super-emitters. Methane is another potent greenhouse gas.
The Arctic region continues to see the strongest warming trends, with warming rates that are nearly four times higher than the global average, according to GISS data and a second research, both of which were presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Scientists believe that the effects communities are witnessing are being caused by the warming of the water and atmosphere.
Climate change has increased rainfall, the ferocity of tropical storms, the duration of droughts, and the effects of storm surges.
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