Wash the thermometer in soap and rinse with cool, clean water before and after you use it. Do not use hot water because the thermometer may break. After washing, it is best to soak the thermometer in alcohol for 20 minutes. You can use ethyl, isopropyl, or medical alcohol (ethanol).
1 In 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.62Â°F (0.90Â°C) above the twentieth-century averageâthe hottest year in the 136-year record.  Since 1976, every year has been warrmer than the long-term average.
What is the average global temperature now? Climate scientists prefer to combine short-term weather records into long-term periods (typically 30 years) when they analyze climate, including global averages. Today's global temperature is typically measured by how it compares to one of these past long-term periods. For example, the average annual temperature for the globe between 1951 and 1980 was around 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius).