2012 ranked as the ninth-warmest year since 1880 and continued long-term trend of rising global temperatures

According to NASA’s annual analysis of surface temperatures across the globe, 2012 was the ninth warmest year since 1880 and it continued a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. With the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record have all occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the hottest years on record. The record dates back to 1880 because that is when there were enough meteorological stations around the world to provide global temperature data.
The annual analysis of surface temperatures released by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York on January 15, 2013 shows that local and regional changes can be more extreme than the global average figures.
2012 was an extreme year for the Arctic and North America, with temperatures exceeding 3 °C above the average for NASA’s baseline period of 1951 to 1980.
To visualise how temperature has changed around the globe, New Scientist issued excellent interactive map of the entire historical temperature record from the NASA analysis.
Interactive map: “Your warming world“
GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP)



Global temperature (Columbia University)
Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
Featured image: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
If you value what we do here, create your ad-free account and support our journalism.
Your support makes a difference
Dear valued reader,
We hope that our website has been a valuable resource for you.
The reality is that it takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to maintain and grow this website. We rely on the support of readers like you to keep providing high-quality content.
If you have found our website to be helpful, please consider making a contribution to help us continue to bring you the information you need. Your support means the world to us and helps us to keep doing what we love.
Support us by choosing your support level – Silver, Gold or Platinum.
Other support options include Patreon pledges, one-off payments using PayPal and purchasing products from our webshop.
Thank you for your consideration. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Teo Blašković
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:
We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.