WASHINGTON – A new report says last year’s global weather was far more extreme or record breaking than anything approaching normal.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Thursday released its annual state of the climate 2016 report, highlighting numerous records including hottest year, highest sea level and lowest sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctica.
#StateOfClimate2016 Annual global surface temperature was record high for third consecutive year: https://t.co/zSh5kjghvR pic.twitter.com/m7F0s0GY2f
— NOAA NCEI Climate (@NOAANCEIclimate) August 10, 2017
The report said the world’s glaciers shrank — for the 37th year in a row — by an average of about 3 feet (1 meter).
Extreme downpours and droughts were up, as were tropical cyclones. Heat stored in the upper oceans was a near record high.
Report co-editor Deke Arndt says the only normal global measure was snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere.
SETH BORENSTEIN