Birkel’s research finds 2015 warmest year in Northern Hemisphere, WVII reports
WVII (Channel 7) reported on recent research conducted by Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist and University of Maine research assistant professor with the Climate Change Institute. Birkel found December 2015 through February 2016 — the meteorological winter — was the warmest or near warmest on record in Maine since 1871. While cold weather still occurs, the overall climate is warmer than it was 100 years ago, which Birkel says is demonstrated by datasets from 1871 to 2015 that show 2015 was the warmest year on record on average across the Northern Hemisphere.