In September 2011, Arctic sea ice reached its second-lowest minimum extent in the satellite record.
Global Energy Balance
Arctic Sea Ice Breaks 2007 Record Low
August 27, 2012
Except for some La Niña-cooled regions of the tropical Pacific and a few other cool spots, the upper ocean held more heat than average in 2011 in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Southern Oceans.
Despite the double-dip La Nina that occurred throughout the year, 2011 was still among the 15 warmest years on record. Including the 2011 temperature, the rate of warming since 1971 is now between 0.14° and 0.17° Celsius per decade (0.25°-0.31° Fahrenheit), and 0.71-0.77° Celsius per century (1.28°-1.39° F) since 1901.
It is virtually certain our world will continue to warm over this century and beyond. The exact amount of warming that will occur in the coming century depends largely on the energy choices that we make now and in the next few decades.
As of 2023, the warming effect of long-lived greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere had increased by 51% compared to 1990. Relative to pre-industrial times, today's atmosphere absorbs more than 3 extra watts of energy per square meter.
March 2011 Ice Extent Second Lowest on Record
April 14, 2011
More than 90 percent of the warming that has happened on Earth over the past 50 years has occurred in the ocean. Not all of that heating is detectable yet at the surface
As the sun sinks below the horizon at the South Pole, NOAA researchers stationed at the bottom of the world settle in for six months of darkness. Throughout the Antarctic winter, the researchers will collect air samples to help maintain long-term records of trace gases, aerosols, and solar radiation.