2017 was the second-hottest year on record, NASA says

Heat wave.
(Image credit: Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

Another year, another dubious climate achievement.

NASA announced Thursday that per its annual temperature analysis, 2017 was the second-hottest year ever recorded. The space authority has been tracking global climate since 1880, and 2017 ranked second only to 2016 in terms of highest average temperature. Overall, in 2017 the planet was 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th-century temperature average.

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.