Despite a few cold spots, it was the the second-warmest year on record Arctic wide. Since 2000, Arctic temperatures have been more than twice as far above average as the planet as a whole.
Like the months before it, April 2020 was also the second warmest on record for the globe, which means 2020 is almost certain to be among the four warmest years on record.
Climate models project dangerous combinations of heat and humidity by the end of the 21st century. New research says these extremes are already happening.
Most of the United States was warmer than average. Wet conditions in March eased drought concerns in Southern California, but extreme dryness around the Gulf Coast raised the chances of drought there.
The most comprehensive database ever assembled of paleoclimate proxies that tell scientists about temperatures since the last ice age ended around 12,000 years ago has been released to the public.
