Historical temperature record

Article

The historical temperature record is the reconstruction and measurement of how temperatures have changed through time. Instrumental records use thermometers at land stations, ships, buoys, weather balloons, and satellites.

Global surface-temperature datasets combine many observations while correcting for changes in instruments, station location, observation time, urban development, and ocean-measurement methods. Independent research groups use different methods but obtain similar long-term trends.

Before widespread instruments, temperatures are estimated from proxies such as tree rings, ice cores, corals, sediments, boreholes, pollen, and historical documents. These records provide evidence for climate variability over centuries to millions of years.

Temperature records show short-term fluctuations caused by volcanic eruptions, ocean cycles, solar variation, and weather, together with a pronounced modern warming trend. Uncertainty increases for older periods and areas with sparse observations.

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• Source / publisher: Wikipedia
• URL type: WWW
• Credits: Wikipedia
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_temperature_record