2016 was Third Straight Hottest Year on Record

The last time the Earth was this warm was 125,000 years ago

Scientists with both NASA and NOAA—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—have confirmed 2016 was the hottest year on record, topping the previous record set in 2015, which topped the previous record only one year earlier. This marks the first time in recorded human history that the Earth has smashed temperature records three straight years in a row. Scientists with the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center have also announced global sea ice levels are at their lowest point in recorded human history.