Global warming: The satellite view

With its November satellite-temperature report, NASA scientists John Christy and Roy Spencer include a review of what the data show over the last 33 years.

They report a worldwide temperature increase of about 0.82 degrees Fahrenheit, with warming showing up just about everywhere.

One exception is the slight cooling in the Antarctic, but the Arctic has been on fire, with temperatures up better than 3 degrees.

In his discussion, Christy says that the evidence of the warming trend might be enhanced by the fact that two major volcanic eruptions -- El Chichon, in 1982, and Pinatubo, in 1991 -- cooled the planet early in the period of record.

Christy said that while the warming is real, "It isn't obvious that it represents an impending disaster."

He argues that questions of precisely how much warming is attributable to human activity and natural causes remain unresolved.

Here is a table with the month-by-month temperature anomalies.