Mainstream media says "2021 was Earth's 5th hottest year"

[bluemingidiot]

Ever?

Without identifying a specific period, which the mainstream media almost never does, that is certainly the implication.

"Often climate change refers specifically to the rise in global temperatures from the mid 20th century to present."
Earth's Changing Climate | National Geographic Society

That is about my lifetime.

There haven't been enough reliable temperature measurements in enough places since the Fahrenheit scale was proposed in 1724 to reliably know earth's temperature.  Much less before then.  It wasn't until about 1880 that we were able to make a reliable determination of overall North American temperature.

So next time you see a statement like "2021 was Earth's 5th hottest year," add since about 1880 to it.

To put 1880 in some context, all my great grandparents were born before 1880. I remember five of them. So weather records only go back about two lifetimes.

Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.

[susannah]

Most of the articles I've seen online (CBC, Reuters, Time, and others) that are similar to what you reference state that 2021 was Earth's 5th-hottest year on record. I highlighted "on record" for emphasis. Additionally, the articles show "records" as dating back to 1850. Why 1850? That's when methodical thermometer based records began.

I did see that the New York Times headline says "2021 was Earth's fifth hottest year, scientists say" so maybe that's the one you saw. The opening paragraph does say "on record" but maybe that  should have been in the article's title (as it is in a number of others) to avoid confusion.

[bluemingidiot]

Jan 12, 2022 17:14:04 GMT susannah said:

Most of the articles I've seen online (CBC, Reuters, Time, and others) that are similar to what you reference state that 2021 was Earth's 5th-hottest year on record. I highlighted "on record" for emphasis. Additionally, the articles show "records" as dating back to 1850. Why 1850? That's when methodical thermometer based records began.

Were methodical records made in all areas or just the more populous and settled areas?

Last year the southern middle had exceptional cold and the northwestern part had exceptional heat.

Recordings need to be proportionally dispersed if a general statement is going to be made.  It is my understanding that it was not until around 1880 that there were enough reliable reading in enough diverse locations to make generalizations about North America.