Global Temperature Anomaly
145 years of land-ocean temperature data. Anomalies relative to the 1951–1980 baseline period. Updated through December 2024.
0.20°C/decade
Post-1980 warming rate, more than double the pre-1980 average of 0.08°C/decade.
2024: +1.45°C
Highest annual anomaly in the instrumental record. Previous record: 2023 at +1.37°C.
145 Years
1880–2024 continuous record from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
+0.1 to +0.2°C
Estimated temporary boost from the 2023–2024 El Niño event on global temperatures.
Temperature Anomaly: 1880–2024
NASA GISTEMP v4 land-ocean temperature index. Each bar represents the annual global mean temperature anomaly relative to the 1951–1980 baseline. The gold line shows the 5-year moving average to highlight the long-term trend. Hover over individual years for precise values.
Warming by Decade
Cool baseline. Krakatoa eruption (1883) caused temporary global cooling of ~0.3°C.
Early warming period, partly attributed to the Dust Bowl and reduced aerosols during the Great Depression.
Aerosol-driven cooling partially offset GHG warming. Mount Agung (1963) caused temporary dip.
Acceleration begins. Pinatubo eruption (1991) caused ~0.5°C temporary cooling. Super El Niño (1998) set new record.
All years in warmest 25 on record. Arctic amplification becomes pronounced. 2005 and 2007 set successive records.
Warmest decade on record at the time. 2016 became the hottest year ever recorded during a strong El Niño event.
Hottest 5-year period in recorded history. 2024 reached +1.45°C — approaching the 1.5°C Paris threshold.
Total warming over the full 145-year instrumental record. Rate is accelerating: ~70% of warming occurred after 1970.
What Drives Temperature Change
Global temperature variability is driven by both natural and anthropogenic factors. Understanding the relative contributions is essential for interpreting the data.
Greenhouse Gases (Primary Driver)
CO₂, methane, and N₂O from fossil fuel combustion, agriculture, and land-use change account for over 100% of observed warming since 1950 (offset partially by aerosol cooling).
Solar Variability (Minor)
Solar irradiance has varied only ±0.1% over the instrumental record and cannot explain the observed warming trend. Solar forcing accounts for less than 5% of post-1950 warming.
ENSO (Interannual Variability)
El Niño-Southern Oscillation causes ±0.1–0.2°C swings in global temperature. The 2023–24 El Niño contributed to the record-breaking temperatures, but the underlying trend remains anthropogenic.
Volcanic Aerosols (Cooling Events)
Major eruptions (Krakatoa 1883, Agung 1963, El Chichón 1982, Pinatubo 1991) injected sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere, causing temporary global cooling of 0.1–0.5°C lasting 1–3 years.
Not All Regions Warm Equally
Warming is amplified at high latitudes (Arctic amplification) and over land masses. The Arctic has warmed nearly 4× faster than the global average since 1979.
Warming values are approximate and represent the change from the 1951–1980 baseline through 2024. Arctic amplification is driven by sea ice albedo feedback. Antarctica warms more slowly due to thermal isolation by the Southern Ocean and Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
How This Data Is Collected
NASA GISTEMP v4
The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis combines NOAA GHCN weather station data with ERSSTv5 ocean temperatures. Coverage spans 1880–present at monthly resolution. The 1951–1980 baseline period is used because it predates most anthropogenic warming and has good global coverage.
Multiple Independent Records
NASA GISTEMP is one of four major global temperature datasets — alongside NOAA GlobalTemp, the UK Met Office HadCRUT5, and the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project. All four datasets show remarkably consistent long-term warming trends, differing only in methodological details.
Statistical Methodology
Temperature anomalies are calculated relative to the 1951–1980 mean for each station, then interpolated to a global grid using a 1,200 km radius of influence. The land-ocean temperature index weights land and ocean areas proportionally. Uncertainty ranges from ±0.05°C (recent) to ±0.15°C (19th century).
Download the Data
All data on this page is publicly available from NASA and NOAA. Download the consolidated dataset used in our visualizations below.