1. Dead heat
Global meteorological agencies agree that 2020 was a scorching year, but was it the hottest on record? Nasa and the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service have 2020 in a dead heat with 2016 as the warmest. The UK Met Office puts it second, while Japan’s weather agency has it in third place. The differences are negligible, says the world body. But all four key agencies in reports last week agree 2020 is part of the warmest decade on record. The average global temperature was 14.9°C, about 1.2°C above the 1850-1900 average. The warmest six years have all occurred since 2015. Greenhouse gases declined 7% due to Covid shutdowns, not enough to affect temperature...
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