Was 2015 the warmest year on record?

The pope apparently thinks 2015 was the warmest year on record:
Someone told the Pope 2015 was the warmest year on record

But others beg to differ:
Forbes Magazine

It looks like it all depends on how you measure temperature and some methods are more accurate than others and some methods are more easily "fudged".

I knew you had a bullshit source before I even clicked here.

It's the Heartland Institute! Those same great folks who took money from Phillip Morris in the 90's to argue against the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. You know, "Smoking in moderation has few, if any, adverse health effects." And with statements like, "The most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen," they are even more hysterical than the right-wingers on this forum.

Or maybe they're just tied with them.

Forky, the Heartland institute is described by the New York Times as the primary American organization pushing climate change skepticism. Scientific method ENCOURAGES healthy skepticism and not calling out people as DENIERS if they present differing evidence. Global Warming skeptics have been call far worse names by people just like you.

Now back to the articles, do you understand the shortcomings of measuring temperatures at the surface versus from a satellite? Didn't Al Gore say New York would be under water by now?

It was so hot a volcano erupted in my apartment complex and lava is running amuck.....

It was so hot that the Ohio glacier melted and took away the wooly mammoths....

It was so hot my ear wax has a bad case of the runs....

Gee Forkie, we can't have anything like science get in the way can we.....

Agree or disagree with them, but don't point to Heartland as a credible source any more than, say, PETA, on the left.

Heartland Institute

Add it to Jphelan's list of tabloids.

It's almost as funny as this thread where he claimed the Clinton Foundation only gave 15% to the charity...
the Federalist

It's really sad that republicans refuse to acknowledge the scientific consensus about climate change. They'd rather see the coastline get swallowed up by the sea than admit Al Gore was right about something.

"How hot is it?"

But I thought Gore predicted doom and gloom a whjile back. What was his movie that said as much and had all the environmentalists freaking and running for high ground? Personally I don't agree or disagree with global warming really, I just don't subscribe to the latest knee jerk reactions on much of anything (Al Gore is a perfect example of what NOT to fall for). The earth has gone through heating and cooling cycles forever, who's to say this one is caused by us? There's absolutely no 100% positive way to determine that just yet.

And why is that strictly an accusation against republicans? Dems aren't allowed to deny any of that stuff? Nothing worse than someone who just sees rep.'s as one uniform homogeneous entity, same goes for dem.'s. Seeing things in such black and white is pretty retarded IMO.

You might have a point. Just point out three Democrats in high elected office that deny climate change and I'll agree with you.