Short-Term Variability Versus Long-Term Trend
Short-term trends in global temperature (blue lines show approximate temperature trends at five-year intervals) can range from decreases to sharp increases. The evidence of climate change is based on long-term trends over 30 years or more (red line). The black line shows the annual average change in global surface temperature from 1970 to 2016 relative to 1901–1960. Source: adapted from Walsh et al. 2014.{{< tbib '6' 'ee2ad491-9e02-4f29-859a-07970e4d1de1' >}}