HOUSTON (KIAH) — It may be wintertime, but during our warmer months you may have started to wonder, ‘are the years getting hotter or not?’ Turns out, they are.
According to independent analyses done by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Earth’s global average surface temperature in 2021 tied with 2018, as the sixth warmest on record!
As the planet continues to warm, scientists also believe this warming trend is having an impact on the extreme weather conditions our planet is seeing more often. So what does this mean for our planet in the foreseeable future, and weather conditions for decades to come? CW39 Anchor Sharron Melton talked with Dr. Steven Pawson about this. He is NASA’s Chief of Global Modeling and Assimilation Office that looks at these questions.
In Part one of this interview below, hear what he has to say about 2021’s ranking in temperatures, for the planet.
In part 2 of the interview, hear how the long term global temperature rise influences the weather events that were experienced last year and all around the world.
To learn more about this important study, visit the NASA link here.