Climate Change: 2015 May be the Hottest Year on Record

The year 2015 may be the warmest on record. Scientists have found that a combination of a Strong El Niño and human-induced global warming may just make 2015 the hottest year yet.

The years stretching from 2011 to 2015 have been the warmest five-year period on record. These years have included many extreme weather events, including heatwaves, that have been influenced by climate change.

"The state of the global climate in 2015 will make history as for a number of reasons," said Miche Jarraud, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached new highs and in the Northern hemisphere spring 2015 the three-month global average concentration of CO2 crossed the 400 parts per million barrier for the first time. 2015 is likely to be the hottest year on record, with ocean surface temperatures at the highest level since measurements began. It is probable that the 1 degree Celsius threshold will be crossed. This is all bad news for the planet."

In addition to the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, there's also the problem of a powerful El Niño event, which is still gaining in strength. This powerful weather pattern is influencing many parts of the world, and has caused an exceptionally warm October. The system is expected to continue into 2016.

A preliminary estimate based on data from January to October shows that 2015 had global average surface temperatures that were .73 degrees Celsius above the 1961 to 1990 average of 14 degrees Celsius. They were also 1 degree above the pre-industrial 1880 to 1899 period.

It looks as if 2015 will, in fact, be the warmest on record as greenhouse gases and weather systems mix to create unseasonably warm temperatures.

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