As expected 2016 has been confirmed as the warmest year on record, 1.3 degrees warmer than prior to the Industrial Revolution.
RNZ: 2016 officially the warmest year on record
Last year was the hottest on record by a wide margin, with temperatures creeping close to a ceiling set by almost 200 nations for limiting global warming, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The data are the first of the New Year to confirm many projections that 2016 will exceed 2015 as the warmest since reliable records began in the 19th century, it said in a report.
The Arctic was the region showing the sharpest rise in temperatures, while many other areas of the globe, including parts of Africa and Asia, also suffered unusual heat, it said.
A few parts of South America and Antarctica were cooler than normal.
Global surface temperatures in 2016 averaged 14.8°C, or 1.3° higher than estimated before the Industrial Revolution ushered in wide use of fossil fuels, the EU body said.
Temperatures last year broke a 2015 record by almost 0.2°, the climate change service said, boosted by a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and by a natural El Nino weather event in the Pacific Ocean, which releases heat to the atmosphere.
In February 2016 alone, temperatures were 1.5° above pre-industrial times, the study said.
That’s overall world measurements.
Temperatures so far in 2017 here in southern New Zealand at least seem to be well shy of the highs, it’s been one of the coolest starts to a year I can remember. It’s not unusual to get a few cooler changes at this time of year but there seems to have been more than usual.
Of course rising worldwide temperatures will increase turbulence which could result in more cold air being dragged up from Antarctica.
Your NZ 
Ray
/ 6th January 2017So it is colder down here ( this is the latest season in 50 + years) because of climate warming.
Definitely the winters are warming but it is interesting that the core samples off the Canterbury coast show much more growth during past warmer periods in the past, so this might be our future.
Not all bad then.
David
/ 6th January 2017so if its 1.3 degrees warmer, hottest year again blah blah blah why are we not suffering in any way from global warming. I notice the world is awash with food this year as evidenced by disinflation in global food prices.
given the hysteria i thought we might have noticed a catastrophe or two or maybe its total bollocks…
Blazer
/ 6th January 2017present your evidence about global food prices….if you can!
dave1924
/ 6th January 2017Not historic lows…. but cheaper than recent [5 year memory]
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/commodity/wheat
Blazer
/ 6th January 2017from the agri chart- 11 commodities up for the year…3 down.We know the roller coaster of milk powder prices over the last few years,but they have strengthened lately.David is guessing.
David
/ 6th January 2017Milk powder is not directly climate sensitive given most milk globally is produced in sheds. Milk price has moved due to european subsidies and russian sanctions. Wheat, Soy, corn and other pastoral foods are a far better guide to climate issues, alongside pip fruits as a leading indicator and they have been abundant globally.
This year will be interesting given temps through Americas agricultural belt so far are 40 degrees below average (farenheit). I trade agriculture futures so keep a pretty close eye on weather.
Gezza
/ 6th January 2017Been an improvement in the climate in North Welly ❤️ today. After 2 days of freezing cold Southerly gales, we now have a slightly warmer Norwesterly gale. 👍
Gezza
/ 6th January 2017Plus, the earth moved for me last night.
Gezza
/ 6th January 2017Just to clarify, we got a noticeable rock & roll from the 5.3 mag at Seddon @ 12.17 am this morning. As you do, I went straight to geonet & refreshed the page ever 5 secs to watch the data coming thru from the seismographs.
It was fascinating to see the epicentre, strength, depth & severity getting constantly changing with the automated reporting of a dozen or more seismometers over a period of about 10 minutes, & to see the final “reviewed” data appear as “best”
The epicentre started near cheviot, then seddon, then east wellington (around upper hutt) and then bounced around between thes general areas. The depths varied from 13 to 40 km, the magnitude from 4.3 to 6,
The data started appearing within 3 minutes I think. Not nice for Seddon & environs, it would’ve been very scary I imagine, but It’s a pretty impressive reporting system Geonet have set up now, compared to when they first started & data took much longer to appear.
Pete Kane
/ 6th January 2017was only a couple of ticks though – Kelburn.
Gezza
/ 6th January 2017Yeah it wasn’t long. Quite a bit of movement here though, and I heard/felt the rumbling during it this time, which is unusual with this sequence for me out this way so far. The P-wave hit first: I thought it was a wind gust, but then in a sec or so the house did a liitle watusi. Are you sitting on rock there Pete?
Blazer
/ 6th January 2017good to hear,so you’ve got runs …on the board for the New YEAR.
Gezza
/ 6th January 2017Perfect. 👍
Klik Bate
/ 6th January 2017Gezza
/ 6th January 2017Me too. Last year she said she had all the windows open & was just wearing a t-shirt & jandals I think. Neighbours must’ve been surprised when she hung out the washing.
Klik Bate
/ 6th January 2017Kitty Catkin
/ 6th January 2017Ha ha. I am wearing a nighty that looks like a knee-length t-shirt, very cool and nice.Yes, and knickers in case anyone’s wondering and Nelly’s reading this to Wayne. Not me in t-shirt and jandals-I never wear shoes of any kind inside, or outside unless I am going out. I can’t see the point.
Blazer
/ 6th January 2017Gezza may have been…..Wondering…😂
Gezza
/ 6th January 2017I have no further questions.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 6th January 2017If global warming is so constant, how come every year isn’t the warmest on record?
Gezza
/ 6th January 2017Which year is troubling you?
Pete George
/ 6th January 2017Climate is never constant. It is thought that El Nino boosted the temperature last year.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 6th January 2017The claim is that climate is predictable and weather isn’t. Also that CO2 levels mean a steady increase in absorbed heat. So why the fluctuations and the two decade interval back to the last “warmest year”?
KitSlater
/ 6th January 2017By 0.2°C according to BBC’s Science in Action. 2015’s Jan – Nov average was 0.723°C and 2016 (HadCrut Dec data N/A) was 0.789°C. Lop off El Nino’s 0.2 gives 0.589°C or 18.5% down on last year. But it’s still up 6% on the same period in 2014.
It was 15 years after the ’98 El Nino before that year’s average temperature was exceeded, so it will be interesting to see if there’s a similar thermopause over the next few years.
KitSlater
/ 6th January 2017Should read ” 18.5% down on 2015.”
PartisanZ
/ 6th January 2017I just want it to rain …
PDB
/ 6th January 2017With a constant black cloud of doom and gloom hanging over you I wouldn’t have thought that a problem?
PDB
/ 6th January 2017If they tell us 2017 is the ‘warmest on record’ we know the results are really rigged…….
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3974846/Stunning-new-data-indicates-El-Nino-drove-record-highs-global-temperatures-suggesting-rise-not-man-emissions.html