Opinion
Ten warmest 12-month periods have all occurred since Oct. 2013
The latest monthly data are out from NOAA, and they tell a familiar story:
- June of 2015 was the warmest June on record, just as February of 2015 was the warmest February, March 2015 was the warmest March and May 2015 was the warmest May.
- January-June of 2015 was the warmest first six months of any year on record.
- The period from July 2014 to June 2015 period was the warmest 12-month period on record.
- Last year, 2014, was the warmest calendar year on record, but it appears quite likely that 2015 will leave it in the shade, so to speak.
- Data and climate models warn that one of the strongest El Nino patterns on record may be forming off the coast of Peru, adding to the probability of 2015 ending as the warmest on record.
- The 10 warmest 12-month periods on record have all occurred since October 2013:
So spin it any way you want. Take refuge in false claims of cooling, or try to pretend that we don't know with near-certainty what is causing a pace of climate change unprecedented in ice core, tree ring or other long-term data. Attribute it all to a bizarre conspiracy theory if you wish -- it doesn't matter.
What matters is that some 40 years ago, scientists began warning of a significant and destructive heating of the global climate, and while scoffers have scoffed and deniers denied, the climate has kept on proving those predictions correct.
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