Amidst talk of Global Warming, we are all set for 2015 the Warmest Year on Record. In a year which has seen the hottest months record set for almost right through the year it was expected that we see 2015 the warmest year on the whole. While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the abnormally warm temperatures what we could possibly say safely is El Nino has aided these warmer than normal temperatures thanks to the very high Ocean Temperatures
As one would see in the ocean temperature anomaly charts while the abnormally warm Central Pacific has provided for El Nino Phenomenon the overall ocean temperatures have been very warm right through the year ever since the summer of 2015 showing up in the warmer than normal weather.
As one would see in the temperature anomaly chart of 29th December across the globe the temperatures are warmer with the average temperature warmer by about 0.5°C warmer than normal. In what is a crucial event some parts of Polar Northern Hemisphere is seeing temperature which are almost 20°C warmer than normal though some of it could be on account of a very strong Extra Tropical Disturbance that is expected to impact Island over the next couple of days.
As mentioned above El Nino has only aided the temperature increase making 2015 the warmest year on record but is not the primary reason if one observes the pattern. To Quote WMO in their 2011 – 15 Weather Summary
The five-year period from 2011 to 2015 has been the world’s warmest five-year period on record. It is likely that 2015 will be the world’s warmest year on record, with data to the end of October showing temperatures well above those of any previous year. The 2011-15 period was also the warmest on record for every continent except Africa.
Further if one were to compare these fiver years with the previous five year period from the above report
Using the mean of three major global data sets2, temperatures for the 2011-15 period were 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the average for the standard 1961-90 reference period. The compares with the 2006-10 period, in which temperatures were 0.51°C above average
To put things in perspective 2014 was on record the warmest year with the temperatures on average 0.61°C higher than the base period of 1961 – ’90. Compare this with 2015 which has seen an average of 0.71°C higher than normal until October. Subsequently November 2015 has seen temperatures warmer by almost a degree than normal. With December expected to continue abnormally warm trend we are all set for 2015 the Warmest Year on Record