Using 1951-1980 as baseline, NASA ranked 2020 as the warmest year on record by a narrow margin, while NOAA and the UK Met Office put 2020 in a close second place, essentially tied with 2016. This record or near-record is even more staggering considering the fact that 2020 saw the beginning of a La Niña, a weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which normally causes lower than average temperatures. This year however, overall global warming was able to offset and overpower the impact of the cooling La Niña.
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/2020-tied-for-warmest-year-on-record-nasa-analysis-shows
Compiled by Amy Imdieke.
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