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Earth and Space Sciences · Glossary

What is Temperature anomaly?

Definition 28.3 Primary & Middle School Earth and Space Sciences · Chapter 28 — The Earth’s Climate, Past and Present

A temperature anomaly is the difference between a temperature and its average over a chosen reference period. It is positive when it is warmer than that average, negative when it is colder.

A weather station: the white box on legs, with slatted sides, keeps the thermometers in the shade while the air flows through it; on the right, a rain gauge (AI-generated illustration of a generic scene).
A weather station: the white box on legs, with slatted sides, keeps the thermometers in the shade while the air flows through it; on the right, a rain gauge (AI-generated illustration of a generic scene).
The global surface temperature, decade by decade since the 1880s, as an anomaly compared with the 1951–1980 average; the last bar covers the six years 2020–2025. Data: NASA GISTEMP version 4.
The global surface temperature, decade by decade since the 1880s, as an anomaly compared with the 1951–1980 average; the last bar covers the six years 2020–2025. Data: NASA GISTEMP version 4.
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