Weather
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Courtesy of NASA Climate Change
Unofficial records suggest that in recent days the global average temperature was the warmest that has ever been directly measured. What does that mean?
July 4 and 5 had the warmest global temperature since 1979, according to an estimate by the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, which compiles daily climate data from around the world. 📡
Heat waves are currently affecting both land and ocean, with unusually warm temperatures in the southern U.S., Canada, Greenland, Russia, and Antarctica. The global average temperature on July 4 and 5 was 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit, or 17.18 Celsius. 🌡️
@NASA uses both short- and long-term data to understand Earth’s climate. Global thermometer records go back to around 1880, but our planet holds climate clues dating back more than 3 billion years. 🌍
Researchers at NASA and elsewhere use evidence of past climate contained in rock layers, polar ice sheets, lake beds, and more. Our long-term view of Earth’s climate system gives us important context to understand our current and future climate. 🌴🔥🌊
Image description:
A red and blue map of the world. The colors represent the amount of heat radiating away from Earth, as measured by satellite. Red colors indicate warm temperatures, and the blue areas are clouds. This is called “brightness temperature.”
Most of the map is light red. The southwestern United States, northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and much of Asia are dark red. The image was captured by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite on July 5, 2023.
