State of the Climate Report Reveals Global Heat, Greenhouse Gases Reach Record Highs in 2015

Last year is the hottest year ever recorded, according to the recently released State of the Climate report by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The findings revealed that in 2015, global heat, greenhouse gases and sea levels all reached record highs.

The annual State of the Climate report released by the AMS noted that temperature and environmental indicators exhibited the worst level in 2015, and this was mainly due to extreme climate change and El Niño.

"This 'annual physical' of Earth's climate system showed us that 2015's climate was shaped both by long-term change and an El Niño event," said NOAA Director Thomas Karl.

Record-Setting Numbers in a Warming Earth

According to Yahoo! News, the global carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere increased by 2.2 parts per million (ppm) at 399.4 ppm. However, the highest recorded carbon dioxide concentration was in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, where it reached 400.8 ppm, breaking the previous record of 400 ppm.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that global temperature surpassed preindustrial levels by more than 1 degree Celsius. Apart from that, ocean and land temperatures were also warmer this year.

Sea level is also slowly rising at an average of 3.3 millimeters per year (2.75 inches higher than in 1993) due to expanding ocean as the planet warms. Scientists warn that the rise maybe faster in the future.

Blame it on El Niño

Last year's El Niño was one of the hottest phenomena ever recorded. According to the State of the Climate Report, the extreme heat from 2015's El Niño caused increasing sea levels and warmer global temperature.

The El Niño also caused higher amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as well as natural disasters such as intense wildfires and cyclones in the Pacific. Drought-affected areas also doubled in number.

The State of the Climate Report in 2015 came from contributions of more than 450 scientists from 62 countries. To read the whole climate report, click here.