Carbon Dioxide and Global Temperature Anomaly

Climate change and global warming occur when pollutants such as carbon dioxide ([latex]CO_2[/latex]) collect in the Earth’s atmosphere and absorb sunlight. These pollutants essentially trap heat instead of allowing it to escape into space and cause the planet to get warmer. This is known as the Greenhouse Effect, and for many years, scientists have looked at how [latex]CO_2[/latex] emissions affect global temperature.

When global temperature is measured, however, we look at what is known as the global temperature anomaly. This is the difference between the long-term average temperature and the actual temperature. A negative anomaly value indicates that the temperature is cooler than normal, and a positive anomaly value indicates that the temperature is hotter than normal. (The last time the global temperature anomaly was recorded to be negative was over [latex]40[/latex] years ago!)