## 3.10 Activity: Global average temperature

A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded:

It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.

One key piece of data has to do with the “global surface temperature.” The report explained:

Global surface temperature in the first two decades of the 21st century (2001–2020) was 0.99°C [CI: 0.84 to 1.10] higher than 1850–1900

Global surface temperature is a measurement of the temperature across every point on the Earth. Of course, it is not possible to measure the temperature at every single point on the Earth. Instead, scientists collect temperature data from a sample of points on the Earth, and they use this data to estimate the global average temperature.

in this activity, you’ll explore how we can make a statistical estimate for the global average temperature. Our research question is,

What is the global average temperature in Feb 2022?

To explore this question, we’ll look at a random sample of 200 temperatures recorded in Feb 2022.

To access the activty
3.10: Global average temperature