With temperatures approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit hotter than the average temperature from 1981 to 2010, 2016 was the hottest year on record, according to a report published by the American Meteorological Society. Last year was the third year in a row for record heat in the U.S.
The research, which was led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and had input from roughly 500 scientists in more than 60 countries, also found that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels jumped “by 3.5 parts per million, the largest single year increase in the 58 years on record. The increase also put CO2 levels over the 400 parts per million threshold — a symbolic ‘red line’ that scientists warn has not been crossed in more than 800,000 years and means the planet is entering a danger zone when it comes to climate change,” reports PBS.
Scientists blame the hot temperatures in 2016 on a combination of climate change and El Niño, which together drove global sea levels and sea surface temperatures higher than any year on record.