2014: The Warmest Year in Recorded History?

For powerful evidence that we've entered the Anthropocene—the term scientists are now using to describe the "age of humans" and the human-warped climate—look no further than the thermometer. Global temperatures were exceedingly balmy these past several months, and if the trend persists 2014 could go down as the warmest year in known history.

Back in June, scientists speculated about this very thing happening partly due to the toasty effects of El Niño. The terrible "little boy" hasn't even arrived yet, and much of the planet still feels like the inside of an armpit in a New Mexico summer. This past month was the warmest September since records began in 1880, one of an incredible four all time-hottest months that've boiled up this sweaty year. The oppressive heat licking the globe is nicely pictured in this NOAA graphic, which shows high-temperature aberrations of as much as nine degrees in dark red: