Global Warming Statistics
Extreme Summer Forecast for 2085
A recent NASA study showed that global warming could cause extremely hot summers in the 2080s, especially if less rain falls. The maps are computer model projections of average daily maximum temperatures over the eastern United States for July 2085 (left) and July 1993 (right). Areas in violet shading show temperatures of 79°F (26°C); green 86°F (30°C); yellow 93°F (34°C); red 100°F (38°C); dark purple 108°F (42°C). -- Full Story
Projections of Surface Temperatures
Taken from the IPCC's Feb. 2 report, these maps show predicted temperature changes, in degrees Celsius, relative to the period 1980-1999. These are projections for different emissions scenarios averaged over decades 2020-2029 (left) and 2090-2099. The B1 scenario assumes a focus on the environment and clean technology; A1B assumes fast economic growth with balanced energy sources; and A2 assumes a continually increasing population and slower technological change.
Global and Continental Temperature Change
These graphs compare actual continental changes in surface temperature with results from climate models. Black lines show averages of observations from 1906-2005; lines are dashed where coverage is below 50 percent. Blue bands show the 5-95 percent range for 19 simulations from five models using only natural causes due to solar activity and volcanoes. Red bands show the 5-95 percent range for 58 simulations from 14 models using both natural and human causes.
Changes in Carbon Dioxide and Temperature
Fluctuations in temperature (blue) and in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (red) over the past 400,000 years as inferred from Antarctic ice-core records. The vertical red bar is the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over the past two centuries and before 2006.
More About Past Climate Change
Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Country
This graph displays data on the major global sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by country, from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the present. The United States' share is shown in dark blue at the bottom of the graph. Although Americans make up only five percent of the world's population, the United States contributes about 25 percent of emissions.
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U.S. Temperature Chart, 1895-2006
U.S. and global annual temperatures are now approximately 1.0 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than at the start of the 20th century, and the rate of warming has accelerated over the past 30 years, increasing since the mid-1970s at a rate about three times faster than the century-scale trend. The past nine years have all been among the 25 warmest years on record, a streak which is unprecedented in the historical record. 2006 Warmest on Record
United States Annual Mean Temperature Anomalies 1901-2003
Red shades indicate warming over the period and blue shades indicate cooling over the period. Most regions have warmed by at least 1ºF (0.6ºC) since 1901 although the Southeast (climate region 2) has cooled. Warming in excess of 1.8°F (1°C) has occurred in the West (climate region 8) and Alaska (climate region 10). More on Temperature Changes
Global Surface Mean Temperature Anomalies
This graph shows annual mean global temperature anomalies from 1880-2001. The zero line represents the long term mean temperature and the red and blue bars show annual departures from that mean. The trend has been toward rising temperatures at least since the start of the 20th century. Land temperatures have greater anomalies than the ocean, which is to be expected since land heats up and cools down faster than water. More on Global Surface Temperatures
Greenland's Thinning Ice Sheet
A NASA study of Greenland's ice sheet reveals that it is rapidly thinning. In an article published in the journal Science, Bill Krabill, project scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., reports that the frozen area around Greenland is thinning, in some places, at a rate of more than three feet per year. Any change is important since a smaller ice sheet could result in higher sea levels.
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