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The temperature data for the record come from measurements from land stations and ships. Earlier records exist, but with sparser coverage, largely confined to the Northern Hemisphere, and less standardized instrumentation. The period for which reasonably reliable instrumental records of near-surface temperature exist with quasi-global coverage is generally considered to begin around 1850. There is a small difference between air and surface temperatures. "Global temperature" can have different definitions. Temperatures on other time scales are explained in global temperature record. The longest-running quasi-global records start in 1850. The longest-running temperature record is the Central England temperature data series, which starts in 1659. Instrumental temperature records are based on direct, instrument-based measurements of air temperature and ocean temperature, unlike indirect reconstructions using climate proxy data such as from tree rings and ocean sediments. 5.5 Siting of temperature measurement stations.
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5.3 Internal climate variability and global warming.4 Factors influencing global temperature.ENSO, volcanic eruption), but record highs have been occurring regularly. : 8 Within this long-term upward trend, there is short-term variability because of natural internal variability (e.g. : 5 The trend is faster since 1970s than in any other 50-year period over at least the last 2000 years. The global average and combined land and ocean surface temperature show a warming of 1.09 ☌ (range: 0.95 to 1.20 ☌) from 1850–1900 to 2011–2020, based on multiple independently produced datasets. global warming) driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases. The record shows a rising trend in global average surface temperatures (i.e. In recent decades, global surface temperature datasets have been supplemented by extensive sampling of ocean temperatures at various depths, allowing estimates of ocean heat content. Satellites are used extensively to monitor temperatures in the upper atmosphere but to date have generally not been used to assess temperature change at the surface. Temperatures are also measured in the upper atmosphere using a variety of methods, including radiosondes launched using weather balloons, a variety of satellites, and aircraft. Measurements were historically made using mercury or alcohol thermometers which were read manually, but are increasingly made using electronic sensors which transmit data automatically.
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Whilst many heavily-populated areas have a high density of measurements, observations are more widely spread in sparsely populated areas such as polar regions and deserts, as well as over many parts of Africa and South America. Instrument-based data are collected from thousands of meteorological stations, buoys and ships around the globe. Instrumental temperature records are distinguished from indirect reconstructions using climate proxy data such as from tree rings and ocean sediments. The instrumental temperature record is a record of temperatures within Earth's climate based on direct, instrument-based measurements of air temperature and ocean temperature. Datasets from different sources are highly correlated. Some global average temperature records date to 1850.
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