Yesterday, NASA released the hot details of our record-tying 2020 which is literally in a “dead heat” with 2016. The past seven years of this decade, since 2014, have been the hottest on record!
Global warming, some of it man-made and some natural, is what we’re living through year after year. And this year was particularly interesting. Obviously, with the pandemic in full force since March we had less traffic on the roads for months. You witnessed that here in Houston, but look at Los Angeles last April:
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So those emissions, along with air traffic, were reduced last year while factories were in full force:
On the other hand, the Australian brush fires in the first part of the year played a role in sending particulates in the air which block sunlight and help cool things down. Again, just a bit.
One other note is that the year started with an El Niño, which is warmer than normal water in the Pacific. However, that has switched now and cooler water is out there, known as La Niña.
Speaking of which, what’s up with La Niña?
The latest La Niña report was released Wednesday and you can see there is still plenty of cooler-than-normal water across the Pacific which generally means a drier climate for us (and that’s held true):
And it looks to stay in place through early summer. The red line below is the model consensus for La Niña and it’s below that middle black line. In fact, the red line doesn’t cross toward an El Niño until the June-August time frame.
Unfortunately, that is also the height of hurricane season and with traffic snarling again, look for a warm 2021. Perhaps even record-breaking.
You can catch up on NASA’s report with a quick read and video right here.
Frank