What you probably assumed to be true if you stepped outside at any point in 2014 has been confirmed as true, by none other than science – last year was officially the hottest one on record.
The SMH report that two different sources – the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA – have both released figures pointing to record warm temperatures around the world.
“The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for 2014 was the highest among all years since record keeping began in 1880,” the NOAA said in their report.
In global terms, sea surface temperature was the highest ever, coming in at 0.57C above the average from the 20th century. Land surface temperature was 1C above the same average.
The previous record-holder for hottest year was 2010, but the 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997, when Smash Mouth‘s now eerily prescient ska anthem ‘Walkin On The Sun’ dominated the charts.
(Coincidence? Or something more sinister?).
“There is mounting evidence all around the world that the Earth is warming and the climate is changing in response to rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” said Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change.
“The record temperatures last year should focus the minds of governments across the world on the scale of the risks that climate change is creating.”
In possibly related news, it’s hot as a bastard today.
Photo: Marianna Massey via Getty Images
