U.S. officials declare 2016 hottest year on record
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday that 2016 is officially the hottest year on record. That makes the third consecutive year that the previous record temperatures were surpassed; 2014 and 2015 were also declared the hottest years on record upon their conclusion.
The average surface temperatures recorded in 2016 were 0.07 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than 2015's temperatures, The Washington Post reported, and each month from January through August was successively the warmest on record.
NASA and the NOAA are the nation's leading scientific agencies. On Wednesday, Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he does not believe climate change is a hoax after Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked him about NASA and the NOAA's announcement.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published