2016 is hottest year on record

By Barry Eitel

SAN FRANCISCO

2016 was the hottest year on Earth since record keeping began in 1880, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Wednesday.

Scientists said last year was the third in a row that set global temperature records.

NOAA calculated it was 14.82 degrees Celsius (58.69 degrees Fahrenheit) or 1.69 degrees F above the 20th century average.

That surpassed last year’s record by 0.04 C (0.07 F).

Although variables like weather station placement can affect temperature readings, NASA said its designation of 2016 as the warmest in recorded history could be made with 95 percent certainty.

“2016 is remarkably the third record year in a row in this series,” said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. “We don’t expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.”

Americans’ fears about climate change are also at the highest since 2008, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.

The survey found 61 percent of adults are concerned about global warming -- the most since researchers began conducting the survey nine years ago.

And another study released Wednesday found climate change will rob the world of “nice weather” days – dry days with mild temperatures.

The first of its kind research by Princeton University found the planet would experience about 10 fewer of those days ideal for weddings or picnics, per year, by 2100.

Specifically, Rio de Janeiro and Miami, as well as much of the African continent, would lose many of their fair weather days, while Europe will likely see more.

The three studies come as the Senate holds confirmation hearings for Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma Attorney General selected by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt gained fame last year for suing the agency for power plant emissions restrictions.

Pruitt told lawmakers Wednesday he believes in the existence of climate change, but his appointment, along with statements by Trump that suggest climate change is a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese government, leave scientists worried.