Beginning in October 2015, each month has set a new heat record, and July has been the warmest month since global temperature observation began in 1880. The speed of rising temperatures is much higher than in the previous millennium, according to data obtained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), demonstrating that warming rates over the past 100 years are about 10 times faster than the century that preceded it.
"In the last 30 years we've really moved into exceptional territory. It's unprecedented in 1,000 years. There's no period that has the trend seen in the 20th century, in terms of the inclination (of temperatures)," Schmidt told the Guardian.
For the next 100 years the prognosis is not good. According to NASA, the pace of increasing temperatures will be at least 20 times faster than the historical average.
Finding a way to shift the dependence of the developed world away from fossil fuels is of the utmost importance, according to climate experts.