The term is most often used to refer to the modern period of global warming, an increase of {{temperature|0.8|1.4}} has been measured at weather stations throughout the world, since around 1850, when instrumental measurements began to be taken and organized records began to be kept. Although only a small increase in absolute terms, the temperature increase is unprecedented within at least the last 14,000 years according to the reconstructions by Viau et al. (2006) <ref>http://www.citeulike.org/user/kmcolo/article/618203 Viau et al. (2006) 'Millennial-scale temperature variations in North America during the Holocene' in Journal of Geophysical Research, 111</ref> and can have a significant impact upon the earth. Since this happens to correlate with increases in [[carbon dioxide]], many have speculated about their possible relationship. Despite this, there is no completely proven model explaining the rise in global temperatures. | The term is most often used to refer to the modern period of global warming, an increase of {{temperature|0.8|1.4}} has been measured at weather stations throughout the world, since around 1850, when instrumental measurements began to be taken and organized records began to be kept. Although only a small increase in absolute terms, the temperature increase is unprecedented within at least the last 14,000 years according to the reconstructions by Viau et al. (2006) <ref>http://www.citeulike.org/user/kmcolo/article/618203 Viau et al. (2006) 'Millennial-scale temperature variations in North America during the Holocene' in Journal of Geophysical Research, 111</ref> and can have a significant impact upon the earth. Since this happens to correlate with increases in [[carbon dioxide]], many have speculated about their possible relationship. Despite this, there is no completely proven model explaining the rise in global temperatures. |