Is there inconsistency between satellite records of warming and surface measurements?
Although there is solid evidence for global warming in the 20th century, much attention has focussed on the period since 1979 when satellite records became available. These records provide a global measure of temperature in the lower atmosphere. When this is compared with surface temperature measurements, the lower atmosphere appears to have warmed less than the Earth’s surface. This apparent inconsistency could be affected by three factors. Firstly, the lower atmosphere and the surface are affected differently by factors such as stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosols and El Niño. Secondly, one might expect differences due to such a short sampling period. Thirdly, satellite measurements require a number of adjustments before they can be converted to temperature data. When corrections are made for some of these considerations, the satellite-based warming of the lower atmosphere since 1979 is 0.18°C per decade, which is almost exactly the same as the surface warming (0.17°C
