The long-term warming of the planet, as well as an exceptionally strong El Niño, led to numerous climate records in 2015, including milestones for global temperatures, carbon dioxide levels and ocean heat, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s annual State of the Climate Report.
“The future is happening now,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement. “The alarming rate of change we are now witnessing in our climate as a result of greenhouse gas emissions is unprecedented in modern records.”
Of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases, 93 percent is stored in the oceans. The heat content of the ocean going down to a depth of 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) also hit a new record high last year, the report noted.
Ocean heating accounts for about 40 percent of global sea level rise, because water expands as it warms up; global average sea level from January through November was also a record high, the WMO said.
Hotter ocean waters also contributed to a global coral bleaching event that is still ongoing, and scientists are concerned that a growing amount of that heat trapped in the ocean could be released into the atmosphere, fueling even more and faster warming.
Heat wasn’t the only arena where records were set: Preliminary data from NOAA suggests that 2015 saw the biggest single-year leap in global carbon dioxide levels, and Arctic sea ice saw a record low winter maximum and its fourth lowest summer minimum.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2015-officially-hottest-year-on-record/
“The future is happening now,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement. “The alarming rate of change we are now witnessing in our climate as a result of greenhouse gas emissions is unprecedented in modern records.”
Of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases, 93 percent is stored in the oceans. The heat content of the ocean going down to a depth of 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) also hit a new record high last year, the report noted.
Ocean heating accounts for about 40 percent of global sea level rise, because water expands as it warms up; global average sea level from January through November was also a record high, the WMO said.
Hotter ocean waters also contributed to a global coral bleaching event that is still ongoing, and scientists are concerned that a growing amount of that heat trapped in the ocean could be released into the atmosphere, fueling even more and faster warming.
Heat wasn’t the only arena where records were set: Preliminary data from NOAA suggests that 2015 saw the biggest single-year leap in global carbon dioxide levels, and Arctic sea ice saw a record low winter maximum and its fourth lowest summer minimum.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2015-officially-hottest-year-on-record/
