In the midst of the United Nation's Climate Change Summit, held in New York City late last summer, many skeptics bolstered their opinions about the current climate change issues at hand. But with heat waves well into the 100's, the sounds of skepticism were silenced by the buzzing of air conditioners hanging near the window. And as it so happens, when researchers and politicians turned to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration (NOAA) for answers, a new study revealed that the blistering heat we felt was unlike anything we had ever seen before.
According to a report recently released by the NOAA, the summer of 2014, between the months of June and August, averaged a global temperature of 62.78 degrees Fahrenheit; 1.28 degrees higher than the average of last century, and the warmest summer on record since documenting began in 1880.
While the global temperature may have only average 62.78 degree Fahrenheit, local temperatures throughout the United States reached new ceilings in excess of 105 degrees. The NOAA reports that while land temperatures soared in the record-breaking heat of the 2014 summer, the vast oceans contributed most to the warming trends during the summer this year.
Global surface temperatures of the oceans rose to 1.13 degrees above the 20th century average, and are the highest currently on record. However, while the oceans and several nations felt the heat like Southern Californians did, much of the United States experienced much cooler anomalies. The lower 48 states had the coolest summer since 2009 and the ninth wettest summer to date, while California suffered through a life-altering drought.
Though the report does not directly link correlations between environmental factors or greenhouse gases to the record-breaking heat wave, the climate change summit couldn't possibly ignore the city heat, as 2014's heat blistered turning into one of the hottest years on record.
