In news that should surprise no one at this point, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have declared that 2016 was the hottest year ever recorded across the globe.
If this report sounds a bit familiar, that’s because it is. Both 2014 and 2015 set the same record, making this the third consecutive year the world has been hotter than ever before. The numbers are small – 2016 was only 1.7 degree Fahrenheit above the 20th century global average – but when you consider that’s a global average it’s more shocking.
Deke Arndt, chief of he NOAA’s monitoring group at the National Centers for Environmental Information explained that the warming was truly universal this year. “Some part of every continent, and some part of every major ocean basin was warmest on record,” he explained about the group’s findings.
The debate on environmental policy is still ongoing in the face of a new United States administration that may or may not acknowledge the existence of global warming. Maybe it really is time to start building cities on the ocean.
[via NPR]