Courtesy of NASA comes a visualization showing how global temperatures have changed since 1880. According to NASA's web site, this "color-coded map shows a progression of changing global surface temperatures from 1884 to 2012. Dark blue indicates areas cooler than average. Dark red indicates areas warmer than average." And the difference between dark blue and dark red is about 7.2 degrees fahrenheit. NASA scientists note that "2012 was the ninth warmest of any year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. With the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record all have occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the hottest years on record." Copies of the video above and still shots can be freely downloaded from the NASA web site. To deepen your understanding of climate change, spend some time with Global Warming, a free online course from the University of Chicago.

via @SteveSilberman/WashPo

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