NASA GISS: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

NASA Analysis Confirms 2023 as Warmest Year on Record

Line plot of global temperature anomalies showing the curve for months of 2023 overlying curves of previous years

Earth's average surface temperature in 2023 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA. Global temperatures last year were around 1.2°C above the 1851-1980 baseline. (2024-01-12)

Five Factors to Explain the Record Heat in 2023

Screen capture from an animation showing the rise of CO2 in Earth;s atmosphere over the past century and how the gas circulates around the globe

NASA announced that 2023 was the hottest year on record. What caused the year to be so hot? Here is a breakdown of the primary factors that scientists considered. (2024-01-13)

New NASA Satellite To Unravel Mysteries About Clouds, Aerosols

Colorful satellite image of clouds over the ocean.

NASA’s upcoming PACE mission will offer important insights on airborne particles of sea salt, smoke, human-made pollutants, and dust by observing how they interact with light. (2023-12-12)

How NASA Deepened Our Understanding of Earth in 2023

Sample frame from an animation of ocean currents

In 2023, the NASA Center for Climate Simulation and NASA Science Managed Cloud Environment provided computing resources to enable research and accelerate scientific discoveries that deepen our understanding of Earth and better prepare for its changing climates. (2023-12-05)

September 2023 Temperature Data Shows Continued Record Warming

Line plots of the monthly global temperature anomaly showing that recent months have experienced record warmth, with September 1983 the largest anomaly yet recorded.

Continuing the temperature trend from this summer, September 2023 was the hottest September on record, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. (2023-10-13)

Indonesian Fires Return in 2023

Satellite image of smoke rising from fires on Borneo

After several years of comparatively quiet fire seasons, Indonesia saw the return of intense, smoky fires in 2023. The blazes have been exacerbated by dry conditions made worse by the return of El Niño. (2023-10-07)

Opportunities

+ Summer 2024 Internships Announced

Recent Publications

Atwood, T.B., A. Romanou, T. DeVries, P.E. Lerner, J.S. Mayorga, D. Bradley, R.B. Cabral, G.A. Schmidt, and E. Sala, 2024: Atmospheric CO₂ emissions and ocean acidification from bottom-trawling. Front. Mar. Sci., 10, 1125137, doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1125137.

Lerner, P., A. Romanou, D. Nicholson, M. Kelley, R. Ruedy, and G. Russell, 2024: The sensitivity of the Equatorial Pacific ODZ to particulate organic matter remineralization in a climate model under pre-industrial conditions. Ocean Model., 188, 102303, doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2023.102303.

Zhou, T., K.J. DallaSanta, C. Orbe, D.H. Rind, J.A. Jonas, L. Nazarenko, G.A. Schmidt, and G. Russell, 2024: Exploring the ENSO modulation of the QBO periods with GISS E2.2 models. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, no. 1, 509-532, doi:10.5194/acp-24-509-2024.

Naud, C.M., P. Ghosh, J.E. Martin, G.S. Elsaesser, and D.J. Posselt, 2024: A CloudSat-CALIPSO view of cloud and precipitation in the occluded quadrants of extratropical cyclones. Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., early on-line, doi:10.1002/qj.4648.

Tsigaridis, K., R. Field, S.E. Bauer, M.N. Ross, C. Maloney, G.A. Schmidt, and K.H. Rosenlof, 2024: Composition and climate impacts of increasing launches to Low Earth Orbit. In AIAA SciTech 2024 Forum, 8-12 January 2024, Orlando, FL, doi:10.2514/6.2024-2168.

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How Do We Know What Earth's Climate Was Like Long Ago?

About GISS

Research at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) emphasizes a broad study of global change, which is an interdisciplinary initiative addressing natural and man-made changes in our environment that occur on various time scales — from one-time forcings such as volcanic explosions, to seasonal and annual effects such as El Niño, and on up to the millennia of ice ages — and that affect the habitability of our planet.

GISS is located at Columbia University in New York City. The institute is a laboratory in the Earth Sciences Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and is affiliated with the Columbia Climate School and School of Engineering and Applied Science.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Goddard Space Flight Center
Sciences and Exploration Directorate
Earth Sciences Division