2020 in dead tie with 2016 as the world’s warmest year

New data from EU satellites show that 2020 is in a statistical dead heat with 2016 as the world’s warmest year, as 2020 was about 1.25C above the long-term average.

Scientists say that the never-before witnessed levels of heat in the Arctic and Siberia drove up the overall world temperature.

2020 also saw a new record for Europe, around 0.4C warmer than 2019.

Effects of temperature increase on the earth

The increase in climate has led to a very active wildfire season. Fires in the Arctic Circle released a record amount of CO2, up over a third from 2019.

A report from Copernicus shows that 2020 was 1.25C warmer than the average from 1850–1900, a time often described as the “pre-industrial” period.

In some locations, temperatures for the year as a whole were 6C above the long-term average.

The Copernicus service concludes that 2020 and 2016 are statistically on the same level as the differences between the figures for the two years are smaller than the typical differences found in other temperature databases for the same period.

More 2020 climate data will soon be released

According to NASA and the UK Met office, more data in 2020’s temperature will be released from other agencies in the weeks to come. This will allow scientists to fully compare the two years.

“Twenty-twenty stands out for its exceptional warmth in the Arctic and a record number of tropical storms in the North Atlantic,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

“It is no surprise that the last decade was the warmest on record, and is yet another reminder of the urgency of ambitious emissions reductions to prevent adverse climate impacts in the future.”

“It took over 200 years for levels to increase by 25%, but now just over 30 years later we are approaching a 50% increase.” Prof Richard Betts from the Met office added.