Since Records Began

2014 is the hottest average temperature on Earth since records began.

It’s only half a degree (Celsius) up on the 20th Century average, but that’s still half a degree in a human lifetime. This is no longer a geological-scale process of warming.

To bring this back home quite succinctly, this animation demonstrates the process of rising temperatures very well.

Two points to make a note on – the 1944 record stood for 36 years, until 1980; note also the massive jump between 1997 (a record year) and 1998 (another record year) – and it’s not as though that record stood for years, it was surpassed not very long after at all.

It’s 2015. You’re old.

It’s 2015, you’re getting old now:

The 21st century seems like it just started, but we’re already half way to 2030.

Remember 1995? The way we thought of the 60s then is how someone who today is the age you were then thinks of the 80s. The way you thought of the 70s then is exactly how far in the past the 90s are today.

How about 1980? It’s closer to FDR, Churchill and Hitler fighting each other than it is to 2015.

The perspectives given by classic movies hurts just that little bit more than you’d expect, along the lines of XKCD’s movie age chart (which is now 4 years old).