Top 10 Signs That Global Warming Is "Undeniable"

Hotter temperatures over land, shrinking glaciers, higher sea levels and seven other key indicators demonstrate that global warming is "undeniable," according to a report released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

The researchers say there is no doubt that, since the 1980s, each decade on Earth has been warmer than the previous one, and that more than 90 percent of the warming over the past half-century has gone into the planet's oceans.

According to the NOAA, the 10 key plane-wide indicators of global warming are:

• Higher temperatures over land
• Higher temperatures over oceans
• Higher ocean heat content
• Higher near-surface air temperatures
• Higher humidity
• Higher sea surface temperatures
• Higher sea levels
• Less sea ice
• Less snow cover
• Shrinking glaciers

(Map courtesy NOAA)

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The study, the most extensive in a series of reports released by the government, does not address causes of or solutions to global warming, but simply presents the results of observations from 48 separate countries. The scientists used data from satellites, weather balloons, field surveys, buoys, and other monitoring sites.
According to the Montreal Gazette, "the study suggests continued warming will transform how societies currently function, as coastal cities, water supplies, agriculture and infrastructure will all be threatened."