Presentations given at the workshop "RAMI workshop on Radiative Transfer Modelling support to EO metrology and Cal/Val activities" are now available for download.
RAMI workshop proceeding available for download.
This is the 33rd issuance of the annual assessment now known as State of the Climate, published in the Bulletin since 1996. As a supplement to the Bulletin, its foremost function is to document the status and trajectory of many components of the climate system. However, as a series, the report also documents the status and trajectory of our capacity and commitment to observe the climate system.
This is the 32nd issuance of the annual assessment now known as State of the Climate, published in the Bulletin since 1996. As a supplement to the Bulletin, its foremost function is to document the status and trajectory of many components of the climate system. However, as a series, the report also documents the status and trajectory of our capacity and commitment to observe the climate system.
Europa websites wear elements and a new visual standards to create consistent and accessible government web presence.
The Working Group I contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, 'Climate change 2021: The Physical Science Basis', was released recently.
The report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.
It confirms that "human influence has unequivocally warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land", and that the crucial warming threshold of 2°C will be "exceeded" during the 21st century, without deep emissions cuts "in the coming decades".
The report benefited from the outstanding knowledge and expertise of Alessandro DOSIO, Frank DENTENER who acted as Lead Authors of two chapters of the full WG1 report (while also being Contributing Authors of the Summary for Policymakers and Lead Authors of the Technical Summary), Rita VAN DINGENEN, Michail VOUSDOUKAS, Nadine GOBRON and Jonathan SPINONI as contributing authors to specific chapters in the report.
Greenhouse gases were the highest on record. The global annual average atmospheric CO2 concentration was 412.5 parts per million (ppm). This was 2.5 ppm greater than 2019 amounts, and was the highest in the modern 62-year measurement record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800,000 years. The year over year increase in methane (14.8 parts per billion) was the highest such increase since systematic measurements began.
Global surface temperature reached a near-record high. Annual global surface temperatures were 0.97°–1.12°F or 0.54°–0.62°C above the 1981–2010 average, depending on the dataset used. This places 2020 among the three warmest years since records began in the mid- to late 1800s.
Sea surface temperatures reached a near-record high. The globally averaged 2020 sea surface temperature was the third highest on record, surpassed only by 2016 and 2019, both of which were associated with El Niño events.
Global sea level was highest on record. For the ninth consecutive year, global average sea level rose to a new record high and was about 3.6 inches (91.3 mm) higher than the 1993 average, the year that marks the beginning of the satellite altimeter record. Global sea level is rising at an average rate of 1.2 inches (3.0 cm) per decade due to changes in climate. Melting of glaciers and ice sheets, along with warming oceans, account for the trend in rising global mean sea level.
According to JRC scientist Nadine Gobron, who co-edited the global chapter and was among the scientists from around the world who contributed to the report,
This report includes new indicators that show how research using space observations, such as Copernicus data, makes a significant step forward in assessing climate change impacts on our planet.
The new RAMI phase is now open: RAMI V is a continuation of previous phases of RAMI but due to the availability of the RAMI On-line Model Checker (ROMC) all canopy scenes were newly designed for RAMI V. More information on RAMI website and on RAMI 5 phase.
Fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) anomalies exhibited significant regional variations in vegetation conditions worldwide in 2019.
Following the decline from positive anomalies with negative values between 2002 and 2009, there has been an increase in positive values since 2011.
Since 2017 the global anomalies have decreased but are still positive with 2019 equal to those in 2018; however, SH anomalies have decreased sharply since 2017.
The Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) and Leaf Area Index (LAI) values datasets are generated from MODIS instrument using the Two-stream Inversion Package at 1km of spatial resolution from 2003 until now.
The 29th annual State of the Climate report, compiled by NOAA’s Center for Weather and Climate at the National Centers for Environmental Information and published today in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, confirms that 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record, after 2016, 2015 and 2017.
Anomalies exhibit significant regional differences in vegetation conditions worldwide in 2018: negative (brown) and positive (blue) anomalies indicate a decrease and increase in photosynthetic activities in green living vegetation, respectively.
The State of the Climate in 2017 reports that last year was the third-warmest year on record (after 2016 and 2015), and that the planet also experienced record-high greenhouse gas concentrations as well as rises in sea level. The annual assessment is an international, peer-reviewed report giving a summary of the global climate. It is published as a supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The report is based on the contributions of more than 500 scientists from around the world, including the JRC.
It provides a detailed update on global climate indicators, notable weather events, and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments located on land, water, ice, and in space.
The main function of the report is to document the status and trajectory of many components of the climate system.
Analysis of the 19-year record shows that large spatiotemporal deviations in vegetation dynamics occurred at regional and continental scales during 2016. A large number of regions experienced much higher-than-average annual temperatures during 2016 along with a few extreme precipitation and regional drought events. This translates into a large geographical variation in vegetated surface conditions at the global scale. The poor rainy season over Africa together with higher temperatures and drought events in South Africa impact the annual anomalies over this continent. The anomalies over Alaska were mainly due to a warmer-than-normal year.
Analysis of the 18-year record shows that large spatiotemporal deviations in vegetation dynamics occurred at regional and continental scales during 2015. The state of vegetation is examined by merging 1998-2015 estimates of the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) from three different sensors: SeaWiFS (NASA), MERIS (ESA), and MODIS (NASA).
Zonally averaged monthly mean anomalies (Fig. 2.57) illustrate the differences between the two hemispheres, with persistent negative anomalies over the Southern Hemisphere during all seasons from around 2002 to 2009. A succession of positive and negative anomalies, suggesting a seasonal cycle, are depicted between 10°S and 30°S since 2010. In contrast, strong positive anomalies are observed over regions between 20° and 60°N since 2012; these persisted during 2015.
Analysis of a 17-year record shows that significant spatiotemporal variations in vegetation dynamics occurred on regional and continental scales during 2014. The state of vegetation is examined by merging 1998-2014 estimates of the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) from three different sensors.
A large number of unusual extremes of temperature and precipitation were recorded at different periods in 2014 in many regions of the globe translating into a large seasonal variability of surface conditions. The largest annual negative anomalies (not favorable for vegetation) are seen over northeastern Siberia, Alaska, northern parts of South America, Nicaragua, northern Honduras, central Africa, and Indonesia, though there can be artefacts in heavily cloud-contaminated regions within the tropics. The northern Caucasus, western coast of the United States, central Canada, southern India, and Queensland were also affected but to a lesser extent.
Analysis of a 16-year record shows that significant spatio-temporal variations in vegetation dynamics occurred on regional and continental scales during 2013.
The mean globally-averaged anomalies, smoothed using a six-month running average, indicate that 2013 corresponds to a relatively healthy state of vegetation at global scale and over the Northern Hemisphere. Relatively large fluctuations are discernible over the Southern Hemisphere with a limited negative anomaly in 2013.
Analysis of a 15-year record of global Earth observation shows that significant spatio-temporal variations in vegetation dynamics occurred on regional and continental scales during 2012. The state of vegetation is examined using estimates of the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) from 1998 to 2012.
The global anomalies derived from the analysis of this time series highlight geographical regions subject to changes in 2012 with respect to previous years. The largest positive (favorable for vegetation) annual anomalies are observed over eastern China and Queensland, Australia. Weak positive anomalies occurred over central Europe, Canada, the eastern United States, Bolivia, southwestern Brazil, and Namibia. The strongest negative anomalies occurred over northeastern Brazil, central Africa, the central United States, and northern Mexico, with weaker negative anomalies over western Australia, India, and western China.
