ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Temperature anomaly

Temperature anomaly is like playing a game where you try to guess the temperature outside. You might guess that it's going to be 70 degrees today because it's usually around that temperature at this time of year. But sometimes, the temperature is different from what you expect.

When we talk about a temperature anomaly, we're talking about how much the temperature on a certain day is different from what we would typically expect for that day. For example, if it's usually 70 degrees on a certain day in July but this year it's only 60 degrees, that's a temperature anomaly of -10 degrees.

Scientists study temperature anomalies to see if the Earth's climate is changing over time. If we see more and more days where the temperature is much hotter or colder than we would expect, that can be a sign that the climate is changing.

Overall, a temperature anomaly is just a way of measuring how much the temperature is deviating from what we would typically expect. It's a helpful tool for figuring out if things are changing and how they might be changing.
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