The report appears as a supplement to a summer issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, a publication of the AmericanMeteorological Society. The State of the Climate report, known until 2001 as the Climate Assessment, is an international effort.
State of the Climate in 2010
The 2010 edition contained submissions from 368 authors from 45 nations and covered 41 climate indicators. The 2010 edition contained a highlights document that summarized the major findings of the report. The State of the Climate summarizes the global and regional climate of the preceding calendar year and places it into a historical context. In addition, notable climatic anomalies and events are discussed. Major findings in the 2010 report were:
Changes in the Arctic and Greenland continued to outpace those across the rest of the planet, on average
The 2010 issue included a sidebar detailing the multiple lines of evidence consistent with the conclusion of a warming planet. An image associated with this sidebar has been recreated many times since, as the 11 indicators of a warming planet.
State of the Climate in 2011
The 2011 edition contained submissions from 376 authors from 46 nations/territories. The La Nina event of that year was a major focus of the report. The cover featured East African women walking to retrieve water in a dust storm. East African drought is not atypical of La Nina episodes.
State of the Climate in 2012
The 2012 edition contained submissions from 394 authors from 54 nations/territories. It cover featured an Arctic scene, reflecting major events in that region during the year. Major findings in the 2012 report were:
Arctic sea ice reached a record-small minimum annual value during September 2012.
State of the Climate in 2013
The 2013 edition has been released on July 17, 2014. The American Meteorological Society published a supplemental paper online. The report was compiled by 425 scientists from 57 countries. Major findings in the 2013 report include:
The climate is changing faster than at any other point in recorded history.
2017 was recorded as the third warmest year on record. 2017 was the warmest non-El Niño year in the instrumental record.
State of the Climate in 2018
All but one of the monthly global ocean and land temperature averages of 2018 ranked among the five warmest for their respective months, marking the year the fourth warmest year in NOAA's 139-year record.
