The Race for the Title of Warmest Year on Record

The data below comes from the 2006 annual climate summary from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If you are arriving on this page without seeing the rest of the article, you can go back to the previous page for a full explanation of the climate data detailed here.

Is it Global Warming?

While you may want to jump to the conclusion that all of the hottest years listed below are due to global warming, bear in mind that there are a lot of factors and variables that can affect climate over the long term. In fact, that is one of the reasons there are two different data sets below.

Climate data analysis is very difficult. Climate models have to use supercomputers just to predict future climate trends. In fact, that is one of the main reasons global warming is given the status of a debate. But as with all facts, variables and interpretations can wreck havoc on the true science.

The Truth about Temperature Changes

Earth is warming. There is little doubt of this fact. But what exactly is the cause of the accelerated warmth we are experiencing? The question becomes then...Is the earth warming due to human activity?

Finally, do not underestimate our good friend El Nino. Currently, El Nino is the most likely cause for the unusually warm 2006. In fact, the ocean was also the culprit in the incredible heat waves of the 1930s that caused the Dust Bowl. Many are even asking...Can we have another dust bowl?

The answer is (unfortunately)...Yes.

The 25 Warmest Years on Record

Data in Years and Degrees Fahrenheit
Rank	USHCN Version 1		USHCN Version 2 Beta
1	2006	55.01	1998	55.09
2	1998	54.94	2006	54.95
3	1934	54.91	1999	54.61
4	1999	54.53	1934	54.54
5	1921	54.49	1921	54.37
6	1931	54.34	1990	54.37
7	1990	54.24	2001	54.35
8	2001	54.23	2005	54.28
9	1953	54.18	1931	54.20
10	1954	54.13	1953	54.10
11	2005	54.08	1986	54.08
12	1987	54.08	1987	54.07
13	1986	54.08	1991	53.98
14	1939	54.07	2002	53.95
15	1938	54.01	2003	53.94
16	1981	53.88	2000	53.92
17	1991	53.87	1939	53.89
18	2003	53.86	1954	53.88
19	2000	53.84	1938	53.86
20	1946	53.81	1981	53.79
21	1933	53.81	2004	53.78
22	2002	53.76	1994	53.66
23	2004	53.62	1933	53.64
24	1994	53.61	1946	53.63
25	1941	53.57	1995	53.51

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