A new study by the Berkeley Earth Project, compiled from more than a billion temperature records, confirms that global warming is a reality. The average global land temperature has risen about 1°C since the mid-1950's. The data agree with the findings from other major groups who have chronicled the world's climate, including NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Met Office's Hadley Center (curves shown above). Hard to be a sceptic (I hope) given the clarity of these data. Gulp.