1 00:00:05,370 --> 00:00:09,930 2022 was an extraordinary year. We traveled to the Moon again 2 00:00:09,930 --> 00:00:14,100 for the first time in half a century. We made history with 3 00:00:14,100 --> 00:00:17,700 the James Webb Space Telescope, seeing deeper into the universe 4 00:00:17,700 --> 00:00:22,620 than ever before. And those same folks exploring outward are also 5 00:00:22,620 --> 00:00:28,050 the same people looking inward toward Earth. So what did we see 6 00:00:28,050 --> 00:01:03,360 this past year? A lot. Scientists around the world 7 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,000 determined that greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate 8 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,110 change once again set new records. In July, we sent a new 9 00:01:10,110 --> 00:01:12,870 instrument called EMIT to the International Space Station. 10 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:16,950 EMIT can identify 'super emitters' of methane, a powerful 11 00:01:16,950 --> 00:01:19,980 greenhouse gas coming from pipelines, landfills and other 12 00:01:19,980 --> 00:01:24,570 sources. And it's already recorded super plumes all over 13 00:01:24,570 --> 00:01:28,440 the world, including in Turkmenistan, Iran, and New 14 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:36,480 Mexico. Methane, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases trap 15 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,630 heat in the climate system and cause rising global surface 16 00:01:39,630 --> 00:01:44,580 temperatures. 2022 effectively tied for Earth's fifth warmest 17 00:01:44,580 --> 00:01:48,540 year since 1880. And the last nine consecutive years have been 18 00:01:48,540 --> 00:01:52,260 the warmest nine on record. And all that heat expressed itself 19 00:01:52,260 --> 00:01:55,890 differently across the globe this year. Most of the extra 20 00:01:55,890 --> 00:02:00,780 heat in the climate system builds up in the ocean and 2022 21 00:02:00,780 --> 00:02:04,500 set new records for ocean heat, in independent NOAA and NASA 22 00:02:04,500 --> 00:02:09,390 analysis. This increased ocean heat can fuel intense tropical 23 00:02:09,390 --> 00:02:16,080 storms like we saw in September with Hurricane Ian. Ian rapidly 24 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,050 intensified from a tropical storm into a category four in 25 00:02:19,050 --> 00:02:23,790 under 24 hours and became one of the costliest storms to ever hit 26 00:02:23,790 --> 00:02:29,520 the US. As the climate system warms, the atmosphere holds more 27 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,760 moisture, resulting in more intense heavy downpours. 28 00:02:37,830 --> 00:02:41,010 From June through September, Pakistan saw some of the worst 29 00:02:41,010 --> 00:02:44,070 flooding in a decade due to prolonged and intense monsoon 30 00:02:44,070 --> 00:02:46,980 rains, leaving behind a devastated community. 31 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,156 Increasing heat not only leads to more water in the atmosphere 32 00:02:57,230 --> 00:03:01,678 and heavier downpours, but it also exacerbates soil moisture 33 00:03:01,752 --> 00:03:06,348 loss and drought. Which is what we saw in the American west as 34 00:03:06,422 --> 00:03:11,092 it experienced ongoing droughts in 2022, leading to vital water 35 00:03:11,167 --> 00:03:15,763 reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell dropping to just 27% 36 00:03:15,837 --> 00:03:20,136 of capacity. Drier and warmer conditions mean there's more 37 00:03:20,211 --> 00:03:24,140 fuel and opportunities for fires. In January during a 38 00:03:24,214 --> 00:03:28,513 longstanding heatwave and drought, the Corrientes province 39 00:03:28,587 --> 00:03:32,813 in Argentina saw over 1000 fires. It devastated important 40 00:03:32,887 --> 00:03:37,557 wetlands in Ibera National Park and vital surrounding farmland. 41 00:03:37,632 --> 00:03:42,450 But there is hope looking ahead. In addition to monitoring Earth, 42 00:03:42,524 --> 00:03:47,269 NASA is powering solutions with free and open data like OpenET a 43 00:03:47,343 --> 00:03:51,494 tool for farmers and other resource managers to plan and 44 00:03:51,568 --> 00:03:55,942 implement irrigation and water use in a warming world. NASA 45 00:03:56,016 --> 00:04:00,242 know-how is also helping firefighters and forest managers 46 00:04:00,316 --> 00:04:04,615 prevent future fire hazards by better controlling airspace 47 00:04:04,690 --> 00:04:08,841 during prescribed burns and emergency response. As we've 48 00:04:08,915 --> 00:04:13,585 seen a warming climate impacts all of us and it's going to take 49 00:04:13,660 --> 00:04:17,885 all of us to combat it. As we look back at 2022 and years 50 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:22,629 past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges 51 00:04:22,704 --> 00:04:26,040 we face and how important it is to meet them.