Is every year now a record year?

Since the 1980s, every decade has been warmer than the one before it and warmer than any previous decade since 1850.¹ Data collected for the current decade so far indicates that the decade 2011 to 2020 will set a new record as well. All of the ten warmest years since record-keeping began have occurred since 1998.²

According to data from the US agencies NASA and NOAA, 2019 was the second warmest year worldwide on record and already the 43rd consecutive year in which the mean temperature on the Earth’s surface was above the average for the 20th century.³