2021 Ranks as Fifth Hottest Year, With More Data Coming Soon

The year 2021 ended as the fifth hottest in records maintained by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service that go back to 1979. That finding comes from publicly available data analyzed by Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist who posted his calculations on Twitter.

This is among the first readings of last year's temperature data but it won't be the last. Copernicus is expected to release its full results later this month. Additional global temperature data will be released from NASA, NOAA, the U.K. Met Office, and Berkeley Earth, which draw on records dating back to the 19th century. Officials from Copernicus did not respond to requests for comment on data posted to the agency's website.