earth science

State of the Climate

State of the Climate is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand State of the Climate rather than just read about it. In short: The State of the Climate is an annual report that is primarily led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Climatic Data Center (NOAA/NCDC), located in Asheville, North Carolina, but whose leadership and authorship spans roughly 100 institutions in about 50 countries. Release The report appears as a supplement to a summer issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), a…

Key takeaways

State of the Climate belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect State of the Climate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of State of the Climate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The State of the Climate is an annual report that is primarily led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Climatic Data Center (NOAA/NCDC), located in Asheville, North Carolina, but whose leadership and authorship spans roughly 100 institutions in about 50 countries.

Release The report appears as a supplement to a summer issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), a publication of the American Meteorological Society. The State of the Climate report, known until 2001 as the Climate Assessment, is an international effort.

State of the Climate in 2010 The 2010 edition (released June 28, 2011) contained submissions from 368 authors from 45 nations and covered 41 climate indicators. The 2010 edition contained a highlights document that summarized the major findings of the report. The State of the Climate summarizes the global and regional climate of the preceding calendar year and places it into a historical context. In addition, notable climatic anomalies and events are discussed. Major findings in the 2010 report were:

2010 was one of the two warmest years of the instrumental temperature record The El Niño-Southern Oscillation transitioned from El Niño to La Niña Changes in the Arctic and Greenland continued to outpace those across the rest of the planet, on average The 2010 issue included a sidebar detailing the multiple lines of evidence (major variables besides global temperature) consistent with the conclusion of a warming planet. An image associated with this sidebar has been recreated many times since, as the 11 (or ten) indicators of a warming planet.

State of the Climate in 2011 The 2011 edition contained submissions from 376 authors from 46 nations/territories. The La Nina event of that year was a major focus of the report. The cover featured East African women walking to retrieve water in a dust storm. East African drought is not atypical of La Nina episodes.

State of the Climate in 2012 The 2012 edition contained submissions from 394 authors from 54 nations/territories. Its cover featured an Arctic scene, reflecting major events in that region during the year. Major findings in the 2012 report were:

Average global sea level reached a record high (at the time) in 2012. Arctic sea ice reached a record-small minimum annual value during September 2012.

State of the Climate in 2013 The 2013 edition has been released on July 17, 2014. The American Meteorological Society published a supplemental paper online. The report was compiled by 425 scientists from 57 countries. Major findings in the 2013 report include:

The climate is changing faster than at any other point in recorded history.

State of the Climate in 2014 A report was released for the year of 2014.

State of the Climate in 2015 A report was released in August 2016 for 2015. 2015 was the hottest year to date. Greenhouse gases were highest on record. Global upper ocean heat content was highest on record. Global sea level was highest on record.

State of the Climate in 2016 Current as of report, 2016 surpassed 2015 as the warmest year in 137 years of recordkeeping. Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere surged by a record amount in 2016, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

State of the Climate in 2017 2017 was recorded as the third warmest year on record. 2017 was the warmest non-El Niño year in the instrumental record.

State of the Climate in 2018

All but one of the monthly global ocean and land temperature averages of 2018 ranked among the five warmest for their respective months, marking the year the fourth warmest year in NOAA's 139-year record.

State of the Climate in 2019

See also Global warming Climate state IPCC Fifth Assessment Report National Climate Assessment

References

External links State of the Climate summaries BAMS State of the Climate NCDC archive of formal reports NOAA NCDC Climate Monitoring pages State of the Climate: Highlights year list

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with State of the Climate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what State of the Climate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to State of the Climate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about State of the Climate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of State of the Climate

In research: State of the Climate appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses State of the Climate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: State of the Climate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American Meteorological Society, Climatology, Environmental reports, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for State of the Climate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study State of the Climate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what State of the Climate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain State of the Climate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is State of the Climate in simple terms?

Why does State of the Climate matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study State of the Climate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on State of the Climate.