Although people may not feel particularly overheated after this week’s Midwestern snowstorm, data from NASA show that the 12-month period from November 2009 to November 2010 was the warmest on record since 1880. Glaciers worldwide are retreating, and studies are beginning to forecast the likelihood of specific glaciers disappearing entirely.  The continued warming trend leads naturally to the question, “Just how hot is it going to get?”  Coming up with an answer is no easy task.

One way to predict the future is to first look back in time.  During the AGU meeting in San Francisco's session PP31D, Reconstruction and Modeling of Global Climate Evolution of the Past 21,000 Years I, scientists played the role of the Spirit of Climates Past.

Check out the story at the AGU blog by Catherine Meyers.