Global average sea level in 2012 was 1.4 inches above the 1993-2010 average, which was the highest yearly average in the satellite record. Sea level has been rising over the past century, and the pace has increased in recent decades.

Earth's atmosphere includes billions and billions of gallons of evaporated water: in fact, water vapor is Earth's most abundant greenhouse gas.

Glacier mass balance in 2011 (the most recent year for which worldwide analysis is complete) was negative, and preliminary data indicate that 2012 will probably be the 22nd consecutive year of net losses in glacier mass. Between 1980 and 2011, glaciers around the world lost the water equivalent of 15.7 meters. That would be like slicing a roughly 17-meter-thick slab off the top of the average glacier and repeating that exercise worldwide.

In 2012, sea ice melted to a record-breaking minimum extent. At the end of the summer melt season, ice covered only about half of the average area it did from 1979–2000.

The ocean’s ability to store and release heat over long periods of time gives it a central role in stabilizing Earth’s climate system. But when the ocean absorbs more heat than it releases, its heat content increases. Warming causes water to expand, raising global sea level. Higher water temperatures can also threaten marine ecosystems, disrupting fisheries and the people who depend upon them. The upper ocean held more heat than average in 2012 in most of the major ocean basins, with the exception of the Pacific Ocean.

Sea surface temperature—the average temperature of water at the surface of the global ocean—is a key indicator of the ocean's status.

Observing temperature patterns in the lower stratosphere—second major layer of the atmosphere—gives scientists clues about our planet’s changing climate.

The Southwest received a double-whammy welcome to summer in June: the region was both much hotter and much drier than usual.

In June 2013, many areas of the world experienced higher-than-average monthly temperatures. According to the latest statistics from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, the globally averaged temperat ...

For the first six months of 2013, the contiguous United States has been nearly split in half by temperature and precipitation differences. Much of the East has been dealing with below- or near-normal temperatures, above-normal precipitation, and flooding while much of the West has been dealing with above-normal temperatures, below-normal precipitation, and drought.