2020 marks warmest on record for Earth

It’s official. 2020 has set a global temperature record. Earth’s global average surface temperature ties 2016 as the warmest on record.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average temperature was 58.77 degrees which was 1.84 degrees above the average mean (1951-1980). According to NOAA, 2020 finished a few hundredths of a degree behind 2016 but NASA said it’s the opposite and it’s so close, it’s virtually tied.

WPXI - Global Temp Anomalies (Climate Central)

There were 22 weather disasters in 2020, which are defined as those costing at least $1B in damages. There were numerous wildfires, a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season and a derecho that swept through the Midwest. The old record of weather disasters in a year was 16 set in 2011 and 2017.

WPXI - Billion Dollar Disasters (Climate Central)

Pittsburgh has seen warming over the decades, too, according to Climate Central. I checked some of the data from our city and Pittsburgh averaged 53.3 degrees in 2020. This is the warmest since 2017 which saw an average temperature of 53.6 degrees.

WPXI - Decades of Warming (Climate Central)

So far this year, Pittsburgh has an average temperature of 38.5 degrees which is roughly five degrees above average. It’s just one of many cities in the Northeast that are having above-average temperatures so far this year.