2007 Second Warmest Year on Record

The tally is done and scientists agree: 2007 is the second warmest year on record. Last year was second only to 2005 and it joins the ranks of chart-topping years that have occurred in the past decade. While 2007 was second globally, it was the warmest year ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere. Temperatures soared in 2007, despite a combination of climate cooling trends that should have made near-record heat impossible, and the year was marked by extreme weather events worldwide. Learn more about the effects of the warmer-than-usual year in 2007, and how it fits into overall global warming.