Although no major government organization has confirmed the claim, 2015 is said to be one of the hottest years on record.
Global temperature has been measured and recorded since about 1850. According to the data collected, the past 15 years have been record-breaking. On average, global temperatures have been growing progressively hotter.
Alaska hit 91 degrees on May 23, 2015, setting a record for earliest day of the year to reach summer temperatures, according to a Climate.gov article.
World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said 2015’s global climate will make history.
“Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached new highs,” Jarraud said. “Carbon dioxide crossed the 400 parts per million barrier for the first time. This is bad news for the planet.”
What did this mean for those soaking up the sun in St. Petersburg?
Gov. Rick Scott announced in November that Florida had welcomed the most visitors over a nine-month period of any time in the state’s history.
Several thousands of those tourists were concentrated in St. Pete Beach, infusing the area with sightseeing dollars and creating more job opportunities for those in the hospitality industry.
So far, regional wildlife does not seem to be too adversely affected.
Barbara Stalbird, a supervisor with the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in South St. Petersburg, stated there were no negative effects linked to climate change noted with the captive wildlife rehabilitated in the park.
“We did note a general reduction in the number of baby alligators during the 2015 nesting season and have theorized it was related to the amount of rain and flooding the preserve experienced during the summer nesting months,” Stalbird said. “But we have not conducted any research to confirm this.”
There are still some dissenters to the idea of global warming.
The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a group established in 1985, lobbies Washington for what they deem more sensible approaches to environmental regulation.
In December, the group cited a study that suggested the temperatures recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency, were warmer than reality.
CFACT claimed stations monitoring the temperatures were adversely affected by local urbanization.
However, the study did not touch on the higher-than-average temperatures recorded consistently in less developed parts of the world.
