Of course, the climate change narrative begins with temperature. Since NOAA began recording data in 1880, the Earth's temperature has continuously risen. As the visualization above illustrates, every year since 1977 has been warmer than the 20th century average. Perhaps what is most alarming is that temperatures are steadily increasing by greater margins each year. 2016 is on course to be the first year ever in which the temperature anomaly surpasses 1 degree Celsius. If the trend continues in 2016, the Earth's temperature will be 1.08 degrees Celsius (1.9°F) hotter than the 20th century average.
Almost 2 degrees? That's barely noticeable at all, some may think. Can these small numbers really make a global impact? Science answers with a definitive yes.
If the yearly temperature anomaly surpasses 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), scientists fear that the planet will be threatened by flooding, massive habitat loss and extreme drought. The article "2 Degrees Will Change the World" published by the Huffington Post in December 2015 vividly describes the problems the planet could face should Earth's temperature continue to rise.
