Another Hot One

NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies has completed it's summary of the global climate of 2007, and ranks the year as the second warmest in the instrumental record.

Hansen and his crew remind us that 2007 holds this ranking despite the emergence of a La Nina in the Pacific (which usually contributes to cooler conditions). Furthermore, those who continue to blame solar activity as the culprit also continue to overlook the fact that solar irradiance has been declining for most of the decade. But the solar cycle is set to reverse, meaning the combination of higher solar output and continued increases in greenhouse gases will make for some warm years ahead.