1.1°C

Observed Global Warming

In 2016 average global temperatures reached 1.1°C above the pre-industrial average.

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Average global temperatures have been on an upward trend since the beginning of the 20th century. 2016 was a record high, with average global temperatures reaching 1.1°C above the 1850-1900 average. 2019 was the second warmest year on record at 1.05°C above the 1850-1900 average. Every year since 2001 has been warmer than any year of the 20th century, apart from 1998.

Over the past 40 years, each decade has been warmer than the previous one, with temperatures increasing by about 0.2°C per decade.

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References

1. Met Office, ‘HadCRUT4 Dataset: Global Annual Average near-Surface Temperature Anomalies’ (Met Office, 2020) <https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcrut4/data/current/time_series/HadCRUT.4.6.0.0.annual_ns_avg.txt> (accessed 16 January 2020). [↩]