NASA says 2013 was seventh-hottest year. And it won’t stop there
Global warming continues unabated -- yes, parts of the U.S. are now freezing and we were recently sucked into the polar vortex. No matter, NASA says, the average global temperature hasn’t ceased its upward creep.
The space agency announced Tuesday the results of a study by its Goddard Institute for Space Studies showing 2013 in a tie with 2006 and 2009 as the seventh-warmest year since 1880. 2005 and 2010 are the warmest on record.
Year over year, temperatures may drop, but more important is the change decade over decade, scientists say. There’s been a rise of 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880 as greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have ratcheted up, the research shows.
The Los Angeles Times recently noted another study which found a slowdown in global warming over the last century. Researchers said people helped to affect that slowdown, particularly with an international ban on ozone-depleting substances.
Slower? Maybe. But NASA’s findings point to a continuing rise. Is it enough to make climate-change skeptics begin to sweat?
More to come on the NASA research from Science Now and Deborah Netburn.
Chill out. Follow me at @AmyTheHub
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