Global Temperatures by Decade

I can't resist sharing this terrific graph that came via Grist.org. The dotted gray line is the long-term average for the period 1961-1990 so if the last two decades were included it would be much higher.

Grist quotes from the associated report:

The rapid changes that have occurred since the middle of the past century, however, have been caused largely by humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Other human activities also affect the climate system, including emissions of pollutants and other aerosols, and changes to the land surface, such as urbanization and deforestation.