Your lifetime
How much has the world warmed since you were born?
Around 1990, the world was 0.61 °C warmer than before industrialisation. Today it is 1.38 °C. All 10 of the 10 hottest years on record have happened since you were born.
1990 → 2025: your warming stripes. Each stripe is one year's global temperature.
What it means
Everyone alive today has lived through a warming world, but how much depends on when you were born. Someone born in 1960 has seen roughly a full degree of warming; children born today will spend their lives at temperatures no earlier generation experienced. The IPCC's Synthesis Report (Figure SPM.1) shows that people born in 2020 will live most of their lives in a much warmer world than those born in 1950 — and how much warmer depends on the emissions cuts made this decade.
See what it means where you live: your city in 2050.
Frequently asked questions
How much has the world warmed since 1960?
Comparing five-year averages, the world is about 1.1 °C warmer than around 1960 (0.31 °C vs 1.38 °C above pre-industrial levels, Copernicus ERA5). CO₂ has risen from 317 to 427 ppm.
How much has the world warmed since 1970?
Comparing five-year averages, the world is about 1.1 °C warmer than around 1970 (0.25 °C vs 1.38 °C above pre-industrial levels, Copernicus ERA5). CO₂ has risen from 326 to 427 ppm.
How much has the world warmed since 1980?
Comparing five-year averages, the world is about 0.9 °C warmer than around 1980 (0.47 °C vs 1.38 °C above pre-industrial levels, Copernicus ERA5). CO₂ has risen from 339 to 427 ppm.
How much has the world warmed since 1990?
Comparing five-year averages, the world is about 0.8 °C warmer than around 1990 (0.61 °C vs 1.38 °C above pre-industrial levels, Copernicus ERA5). CO₂ has risen from 354 to 427 ppm.
How much has the world warmed since 2000?
Comparing five-year averages, the world is about 0.6 °C warmer than around 2000 (0.77 °C vs 1.38 °C above pre-industrial levels, Copernicus ERA5). CO₂ has risen from 370 to 427 ppm.
How much has the world warmed since 2010?
Comparing five-year averages, the world is about 0.5 °C warmer than around 2010 (0.90 °C vs 1.38 °C above pre-industrial levels, Copernicus ERA5). CO₂ has risen from 390 to 427 ppm.
Why compare five-year averages?
Single years swing up and down with El Niño and La Niña by up to about 0.2 °C. Averaging five years around your birth year and the latest five years shows the underlying warming more fairly.
Sources: Copernicus ERA5 (from 1940) and NASA GISTEMP (before 1940);NOAA Mauna Loa CO₂; NSIDC Sea Ice Index;NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry. Temperatures are five-year averages relative to 1850–1900. Methodology