January 23, 2014

Among the questions triggered by the weeks-long entrapment of the Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy in thick ice floes in December and early January were whether the extensive sea ice the group encountered was out of the ordinary for the region and, if so, whether long-term climate change was playing a role.

ANIMATION: The globally averaged temperature for 2013 tied as the fourth warmest year since record keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA scientists. It was the 37th consecutive year with a global temperature above the 20th-century average. This animation starts with the 2013 difference from average temperature and continues through monthly temperature anomaliies for January-December.