What is the average temperature of the Earth now?
Figure 2. (a) Annual surface temperature anomaly relative to 1951-1980 mean, based on surface air measurements at meteorological stations and ship and satellite measurements of sea surface temperature. (b) Global map of surface temperature anomalies for 2007. (Source: NASA) The analyses made by leading climate centers rank the year 2007 amongst the ten warmest years on record. According to the Met Office Hadley Centre in the UK, the global mean surface temperature in 2007 was 0.40°C (0.72°F) above the 1961–1990 annual average (14°C/57.2°F) and hence marks the seventh warmest year on record. According to the National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the global mean surface temperature anomaly was 0.55°C (0.99°F) above the twentieth century average (1901–2000) of 13.9°C (56.9°F), which ranks 2007 the fifth warmest year in its record. The unusual warmth in 2007 is noteworthy because it occurs at a time when solar irradiance is at a minimum and t
