The year 2015 was the warmest on Earth since measurements began in 1880. Both global Air Temperature and Ocean Temperature was the warmest on record. See the development in Air Temperature between 1960 and 2015 in the diagram below; the average temperature rise 1880-1937 is set at 0°C and 2015 was 1.64°C warmer.

The development since 1880 in Air Temperature and Ocean Temperature, and the two combined, are available at ‘ncdc.noaa.gov’. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the annual average temperature for the globe was around 14.0°C, between 1961 and 1990.

In comparison with the average temperature 1880-1937 the decade 2006-2015 was 1.27°C warmer on average. The grim consequences worldwide are apparent. Human fever is of course different than global warming, and yet analogous. Below are listed the symptoms of rising human body temperature (source: ‘Wikipedia’):

• 37°C (36.12–37.8 °C): Normal body temperature.
• 38°C: Sweating and feeling hot (often with chills), thirsty, very uncomfortable and slightly hungry.
• 39°C: Severe sweating, flushed, red, fast heart rate, breathlessness and exhaustion.
• 40°C: Fainting, dehydration, weakness, vomiting, headache, dizziness and profuse sweating. Potentially life threatening.
• 41°C: Fainting, vomiting, severe headache, dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, delirium and drowsiness. There may be palpitations and breathlessness.
• 42°C: May turn pale or remain flushed and red; may become comatose, in severe delirium, vomiting, and convulsions can occur. Blood pressure may be high or low and heart rate will be very fast.
• 43°C: Normally death, or there may be serious brain damage, continuous convulsions, shock or cardio-respiratory collapse.
• 44°C: Almost certainly death.

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National Climate Debts in ClimatePositions increase due to the increase in global Air Temperature. An example: 32.3% of the accumulated Climate Debt of Russia is due to the increase in global Air Temperature between 2000 and 2015 (the 32.3% amounts to $66 billion or $2.60 per tons CO2 emitted from fossil fuels since 2000).

A hypothetical example: If the global Air Temperature for a decade sensationally dropped to the same average temperature as for the period 1880-1937, then the Climate Debts of all countries would drop to zero.  

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Data sources on global Air Temperature: NOAA National Climatic Data Center (links in the menu “Calculations”).

Drawing by Claus Andersen, 2016.