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Global surface temperatures

Global surface temperatures
Global surface temperatures

The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that “it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.” One key piece of evidence for this is the global average of the instrumental record of surface temperature. A change in surface temperature of 1.5°C relative to a reference “preindustrial” period is the measure internationally agreed to mark the transition to a climate where dangerous impacts become common. This chapter will discuss the observational evidence that ensures a reliable record of the changing temperature, some of the challenges that have been overcome, and some that remain in improving that record and more fully understanding its uncertainty.

climate, extremes, observations, Temperature, uncertainty
85-120
Elsevier
Kent, Elizabeth C.
59bfb484-c094-43a7-8d2a-4d0a4357eeeb
Chan, Duo
4c1278dc-7f39-4b67-b1cd-3f81f55f4906
Cornes, Richard C.
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Englyst, Pia
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Kajtar, Jules B.
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Merchant, Christopher J.
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Thorne, Peter W.
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Wallis, Emily J.
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Woolway, R. Iestyn
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Letcher, Trevor M.
Fthenakis, Vasilis M.
Kent, Elizabeth C.
59bfb484-c094-43a7-8d2a-4d0a4357eeeb
Chan, Duo
4c1278dc-7f39-4b67-b1cd-3f81f55f4906
Cornes, Richard C.
acf5109a-935c-420a-b21b-d5f36c9fd594
Englyst, Pia
a1e6d4d7-2f86-41b0-8f57-72f6a9bc4e78
Kajtar, Jules B.
3c8eeadc-4e7b-4f4c-9bc1-3cfca09a20ba
Merchant, Christopher J.
46703345-636f-4554-ac40-2307fb19ca2c
Thorne, Peter W.
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Wallis, Emily J.
c3457733-705d-450c-ae93-900d644af7e4
Woolway, R. Iestyn
4246595f-4af1-42e3-a9e4-f45abc108064
Letcher, Trevor M.
Fthenakis, Vasilis M.

Kent, Elizabeth C., Chan, Duo, Cornes, Richard C., Englyst, Pia, Kajtar, Jules B., Merchant, Christopher J., Thorne, Peter W., Wallis, Emily J. and Woolway, R. Iestyn (2025) Global surface temperatures. In, Letcher, Trevor M. and Fthenakis, Vasilis M. (eds.) Energy and Climate Change: Our New Future. Elsevier, pp. 85-120. (doi:10.1016/B978-0-443-21927-6.00022-2).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that “it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.” One key piece of evidence for this is the global average of the instrumental record of surface temperature. A change in surface temperature of 1.5°C relative to a reference “preindustrial” period is the measure internationally agreed to mark the transition to a climate where dangerous impacts become common. This chapter will discuss the observational evidence that ensures a reliable record of the changing temperature, some of the challenges that have been overcome, and some that remain in improving that record and more fully understanding its uncertainty.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 28 February 2025
Published date: 28 February 2025
Keywords: climate, extremes, observations, Temperature, uncertainty

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 503485
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503485
PURE UUID: c0563702-3b5c-4161-bf6c-9b707a8618d6
ORCID for Duo Chan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8573-5115

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 04 Aug 2025 16:33
Last modified: 05 Aug 2025 02:09

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Contributors

Author: Elizabeth C. Kent
Author: Duo Chan ORCID iD
Author: Richard C. Cornes
Author: Pia Englyst
Author: Jules B. Kajtar
Author: Christopher J. Merchant
Author: Peter W. Thorne
Author: Emily J. Wallis
Author: R. Iestyn Woolway
Editor: Trevor M. Letcher
Editor: Vasilis M. Fthenakis

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