Raqel Laneri, Jan 30, 2014

Don't let this year's harsh winter fool you. Despite the two(!) Polar Vortexes and the freak snowstorms currently bludgeoning the South, the Earth really is getting warmer.

That's the takeaway from this sobering graphic released by NASA, which illustrates 60 years of the globe's changing climate. In just 15 seconds, NASA charts the weather patterns year by year, showing a serene blue world rapidly morph into an orange fireball.

The video is based on a new report by NASA's Goddard Institute, which has analyzed 60 years worth weather data from more than 1,000 meteorological stations around the world. The results are sobering. Not only was 2013 one of the hottest years on record, but since 1880 all but one of the 10 warmest years have occurred in the new millennium.

"Long-term trends in surface temperatures are unusual, and 2013 adds to the evidence for ongoing climate change," GISS climatologist Gavin Schmidt said in a press release. "While one year or one season can be affected by random weather events, this analysis shows the necessity for continued, long-term monitoring."

Maldives's capital city of Male is one of the world's most threatened cities by climate change

The report also stresses that much of this change has been man-made, citing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases as the primary reasons for the globe's increasing temperatures. In 1880, the atmosphere's carbon dioxide level was about 285 parts per million; by 1960 that number had jumped to 315 parts per million, and last year peaked at 400 parts per million.

Read the whole report here. And check out Cities Threatened By Climate Change, 10 Weird Inventions To Solve Pollution, and 9 Architectural Alternatives To Heat Your Home During The Polar Vortex.

Source: architizer.com