2016 Was The Hottest Year On Record, According To NASA

Average temperatures across the planet were the highest ever recorded in 2016, according to separate analyses conducted by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday.

"This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures," reported a press release from NASA.

On average, temperatures on Earth were 1.78 degrees above what they were in the middle of the previous century. They were warmer than any time since record keeping began in 1880.

The record-breaking year wasn't the result of a bizarre aberration, such as an exceptionally hot July or an unusually warm February. Eight of the months in 2016 broke the individual hottest month records as well.

“We don’t expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.

It's important to note that there are changes in measurement practices and other factors that may skew the researcher's findings. However, NASA reports that it has 95 percent certainty in its findings — which are in line with the findings of NOAA.

Sixteen of the 17 warmest years on record happened after 2001.

Since the late 1800s, temperatures have risen an average of 2 degrees, most of which has occurred in the last 35 years. The press release notes that the changes in temperature have largely been driven by carbon dioxide and other emissions associated with human activity.

While the increase of a few degrees may not seem like much, researchers who study climate warn that even changes of just a few degrees in average temperatures over the long term. High temperatures means melting glacial ice, which can lead to higher sea levels and wipe out inhabited areas of land. Broader changes to the climate can also result in more adverse weather events, like hurricanes and droughts. The Environmental Protection Agency has connected climate change to increasing ocean acidity, one of many effects that may lead to unpredictable consequences for the world and for human life.

But factors unrelated to human action also affect global temperatures. El Niño, for example, is a warming weather pattern that emerges over the Pacific Ocean every few years, can drive changes in temperature.

In 2016, NASA estimates that El Niño accounted for an increase in global temperatures by 0.2 degrees, affecting mostly the first four months of the year.

The analyses use data from 6,300 weather observatory measuring temperatures on land, ships and buoys. They measure temperatures across the planet, including on the sea surface and in remote locations of Antarctica.

NASA also uses satellites, airborne monitors, and ground stations to observe and track signs of planetary health.

This information was released Wednesday, the same day Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection agency, Scott Pruitt, testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in confirmation hearings for his role. During the testimony, Pruitt acknowledged the scholarly consensus on the reality of human contributions to climate change but expressed hesitancy about policymakers' ability to mitigate the effects.

This story is being updated.

Photo credit: Daniel R. Blume