Earth is experiencing one of its warmest years, in 2022. In 2022, the temperature of the oceans soars and sea ice cover in Antarctica melts to a record low.
Yes, last year was the fifth warmest year on record. In 2022, the average global surface temperature will be about 0.8 degrees Celsius warmer than the 20th century average. This analysis was presented by the United States space agency NASA.
Meanwhile, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2022 is the sixth warmest year on Earth. Although the rankings of the two institutions differ slightly, both analyzes describe the same alarming condition of persistent warming amidst the Earth's changing climate.
"The difference between fifth and sixth in our ranking is one hundredth of a degree Celsius. We try not to make too many specific ratings. But the key is long-term trending, and it seems these trends are very consistent from note to note," said Gavin Schmidt, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Quoted from NBC News, the NASA and NOOA reports both concluded that the last nine years were Earth's warmest period since temperature records began in 1880.
Scientists agree that the world has warmed by about 1.1 degrees Celsius since the late 1800s. Therefore, in the 2015 Paris Agreement it was stipulated that humans must limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.
Current trends seem to suggest that Earth may be running out of time to catch up to that target. It is possible that in any given year the decade's average global temperature could jump by more than the 1.5 degree threshold. But a more worrying trend is when that rate of warming persists for decades.
A major report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that global warming could exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by around 2040.
The consequences of global warming are already being felt around the world, from last year's devastating floods in Pakistan to record-breaking heat waves in Europe and Asia, and ongoing droughts around the world. Studies have shown that global warming will cause these kinds of extreme weather events to intensify.
NOAA's analysis is also an alarm regarding the 'health' of the world's oceans. The heat content of the oceans reached a record high last year, surpassing the record set in 2021. Scientists routinely monitor ocean heat as warmer water contributes to ocean acidification, sea level rise and extreme weather.
Temperatures in 2022 also continue to affect sea ice cover at Earth's poles. Antarctica's average annual sea ice cover shrank to 4.1 million square miles, close to a record low set in 1987. The Arctic, meanwhile, recorded its annual average sea ice coverage at 4.1 million miles.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called the report's findings a call to action. "Our warming climate is already showing the signs: wildfires are intensifying, storms are getting stronger, droughts are wreaking havoc and sea levels are rising," Nelson said.