2021 was 6th hottest year on record: Nasa analysis

EARTH’S global average surface temperature in 2021 tied 2018 as the sixth warmest year on record, and the past eight years were the warmest, according to an independent analysis done by Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA.

Continuing the planet’s long-term warming trend, global temperatures in 2021 were 0.85ºc above the average for Nasa’s baseline period, according to scientists at Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. Nasa uses the period from 1951-1980 as a baseline to see how global temperature changes over time.

“Collectively, the past eight years are the warmest years since modern record-keeping began in 1880. This annual temperature data makes up the global temperature record – which tells scientists the planet is warming,” a Nasa release said.

According to Nasa’s temperature record, Earth in 2021 was about 1.1ºc warmer than the late 19th century average, the start of the industrial revolution.

“Science leaves no room for doubt: Climate change is the existential threat of our time,” said Nasa administrator Bill Nelson. “Eight of the top 10 warmest years on our planet occurred in the last decade, an indisputable fact that underscores the need for bold action to safeguard the future of our country – and all of humanity.”

This warming trend around the globe is due to human activities that have increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The planet is already seeing the effects of global warming: Arctic sea ice is declining, sea levels are rising, wildfires are becoming more severe and animal migration patterns are shifting.