NASA scientists say 2012 was the ninth warmest of any year
since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. With
the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record all have
occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the hottest years on record.
NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New
York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, released
an updated analysis Tuesday that compares temperatures around the globe in 2012
to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century. The comparison
shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several
decades ago.