2016 is all set to become the hottest year on record ever since man started recording weather. The predictions succeed announcements by both National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that April 2016 was the warmest April ever, according to data released in mid-May.
Historical temperature records with NOAA also substantiate that this April was the twelfth straight warmest month in a row. NOAA went on to affirm that the first four months of the year were the warmest since the records are available with the agency dating back to 1880. This is 1.14°C above the twentieth century average.
Even the waning of the current exceptionally strong El Nino is unlikely to bring any solace. A La Nina event, the cooling phase of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, is likely to arrive by the end of this year. The incoming La Nina is not expected to assuage the heat produced during the El Nino led first half of the year.
Objectively speaking, the year 2016 has a 99 percent chance that it will supersede 2015 as the hottest year till date, according to leading climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. He is the head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies which is the stockpile of NASA's temperature data. The head start that 2016 snatched in terms of higher temperatures is likely to drive the average above 2015 temperature levels.
The world will continue to see a streak of record setting hot years if such projections come true. This will be the third year in a row that will shatter the heat record of the previous one.
Columnist
Indranil is a weather industry expert with a decade long experience in the domain. He has been instrumental in setting up novel weather services across landscapes for both agriculture and industry, raising capital and crafting a growth story for weather forecasting in India. Currently he is Senior Vice President of Express Weather.
