NASA scientists have reported that 2011 was the ninth warmest year on record since 1880 and nine out of ten of warmer years have occurred since 2000. 2005 and 2010 tied for the warmest years on record but we could see a not so far off year break the tie and take the title for warmest in one swoop.

NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) director John E. Hansen has predicted that it’s just going to get hotter over the next two to three years because of increased solar activity and El Niño’s effect on tropical Pacific temperatures- “The Christ Child” likes them on the warmer side to celebrate his birthday.

"It's always dangerous to make predictions about El Niño, but it's safe to say we'll see one in the next three years," Hansen said. "It won't take a very strong El Niño to push temperatures above 2010."

GISS has been monitoring global surface temperatures with data culled from more than 1,000 global meteorological stations, satellite observations of sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research station measurements.  Using all of that information they found “the average temperature around the globe in 2011 was 0.92°F (0.51°C) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline.” 

Do we know what’s causing the temperature to rise? Hint: Starts with a “G” and maybe a “C”. 

NASA’s press release just happened to mention,  “Higher temperatures today are largely sustained by increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. These gases absorb infrared radiation emitted by Earth and release that energy into the atmosphere rather than allowing it to escape to space. As their atmospheric concentration has increased, the amount of energy ‘trapped’ by these gases has led to higher temperatures.” 

Is there any good news?  Are Doomsdayers going to pick this up and run with it forecasting the end of the world again? Well, they certainly can’t poke any real holes in NASA’s research because NASA focuses on temperature trends over ten year spans and not the fluctuating year-to-year temperature. There is only a difference of 0.22°F (0.12°C) between 2010 (a warmest year yet winner) and 2011. NASA says, “This underscores the emphasis scientists put on the long-term trend of global temperature rise. Because of the large natural variability of climate, scientists do not expect temperatures to rise consistently year after year. However, they do expect a continuing temperature rise over decades.”