Scientists Just Announced a Terrifying New Heat Record

State of the climate report found 2017 also had record high sea levels and destructive coral bleaching

Vallauri Nicolas/Maxppp via ZUMA Press

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This story was originally published by the Guardian. It appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Last year was the warmest ever recorded on Earth that didn’t feature an El Niño, a periodic climatic event that warms the Pacific Ocean, according to the annual state of the climate report by 500 climate scientists from around the world, overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and released by the American Meteorological Society.

Climate change cast a long shadow in 2017, with the planet experiencing soaring temperatures, retreating sea ice, a record high sea level, shrinking glaciers and the most destructive coral bleaching event on record.

Overall, 2017 was third warmest year on record, NOAA said, behind 2016 and 2015. Countries including Spain, Bulgaria, Mexico and Argentina all broke their annual high temperature records.

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