There were pockets of pure hotness in the United States in 2014. California, for instance, endured an unprecedented drought, worsened by the warmest year in the state since 1934.
Although the United States, overall, had just its 34th-warmest year on record, the rest of the world suffered much more: As climate scientists had been predicting for much of the year, 2014 was the hottest year around the globe since records began being kept in 1880.
As USA Today reported:
The global temperature from 2014 broke the previous record warmest years of 2005 and 2010 …
Two separate data sets of global temperature — from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — confirmed the record. Another data set released last week by the Japan Meteorological Agency also found 2014 was the planet’s warmest.
The average temperature for 2014 was 58.24 degrees globally, 1.24 degrees above the 20th-century average, NOAA said.
(California’s average was 61.5 degrees. Alaska, Nevada and Arizona also had their warmest years on record. Earlier this month, it was announced that Anchorage had exactly zero days of below-zero weather in 2014.)
More USA Today:
“It just shows that human emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, are taking over the Earth’s climate system,” [University of Arizona atmospheric scientist Jonathan] Overpeck said. “The data are clear: The Earth is warming, and humans are causing the bulk of this warming.”
Nine of the 10 warmest years on Earth have now occurred in the 21st century, the data show.
The warming trend was driven by ocean temperatures moreso than land temperatures, which alarms scientists, since there wasn’t even a heat-producing El Nino event.
As The Washington Post reported:
Ocean temperatures were more than 1 F above average, NOAA said. They warmed to a new record even in the absence of an El Niño event, a naturally occurring cycle of ocean heating in the tropical Pacific.
“This is the first year since 1997 that the record warmest year was not an El Niño year at the beginning of the year, because the last three have been,” Gavin Schmidt, who directs the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told the Post’s Chris Mooney.
Kuna baadhi ya maeneo ya joto katika Marekani. California, kwa mfano, ilipatwa na ukame usio na kifani, uliozidi kuwa mbaya zaidi na mwaka wa joto zaidi katika jimbo hilo tangu 1934. Ingawa Marekani ilikuwa na mwaka wa 34 tu wa joto zaidi katika rekodi, nchi nyingine za ulimwengu ziliteseka zaidi: Kama wanasayansi wa hali ya hewa walivyokuwa wakitabiri kwa sehemu kubwa ya mwaka, 2014 ilikuwa mwaka wa joto zaidi duniani kote tangu rekodi zilianza kuhifadhiwa mnamo 1880. "Kama USA Today ilivyosema: ""Joto la dunia kutoka 2014 lilivunja rekodi ya miaka ya joto zaidi ya 2005 na 2010... seti mbili tofauti za data za joto la dunia kutoka NASA na Usimamizi wa Kitaifa wa Bahari na Anga zilithibitisha rekodi hiyo.""" Takwimu zilizotolewa na Shirika la Utafiti wa Hali ya Hewa la Japan (JMA) zinaonyesha kuwa mwaka 2014 ulikuwa mwaka wenye joto zaidi duniani. Kiwango cha joto cha wastani cha mwaka 2014 kilikuwa digrii 58.24 duniani kote, digrii 1.24 juu ya wastani wa karne ya 20, NOAA ilisema. (Wastani wa California ulikuwa digrii 61.5 Alaska, Nevada na Arizona pia zilikuwa na miaka yao ya joto zaidi kuwahi kurekodiwa. Katika mwaka wa 2014, Anchorage ilikuwa na siku 0 za hali ya hewa chini ya sifuri. "Hii inaonyesha tu kwamba uzalishaji wa binadamu wa gesi za chafu, hasa kutoka kwa kuchoma mafuta ya visukuku, unatawala mfumo wa hali ya hewa ya Dunia, ""alisema mwanasayansi wa anga wa Chuo Kikuu cha Arizona Jonathan Overpeck." "Takwimu ni wazi: Dunia ni joto, na wanadamu ni kusababisha sehemu kubwa ya joto hili. tisa ya 10 ya joto zaidi miaka duniani sasa wametokea katika karne ya 21, ""data kuonyesha." Mwelekeo wa ongezeko la joto uliongozwa na joto la bahari zaidi kuliko joto la ardhi, ambayo inawaogopesha wanasayansi, kwani hakukuwa hata tukio la El Nino linalozalisha joto. "Kama ilivyoripotiwa na gazeti la Washington Post, ""Hawa ni maeneo yenye joto la juu zaidi ya kiwango cha wastani cha joto la dunia,"" na ""haya ni maeneo yenye joto la juu zaidi ya kiwango cha wastani wa joto la dunia.""" Kwa mfano, kwa mfano, kwa sababu ya hali ya hewa ya El Niño, ambayo ni mzunguko wa asili wa joto la bahari katika Pasifiki ya kitropiki. "Hii ni mwaka wa kwanza tangu mwaka 1997 ambapo rekodi ya mwaka wa joto zaidi haikuwa mwaka wa El Niño mwanzoni mwa mwaka, kwa sababu tatu za mwisho zimekuwa,"" Gavin Schmidt, ambaye anaongoza Taasisi ya NASA ya Goddard ya Mafunzo ya Anga, aliiambia Post Chris Mooney."