2016 warmest on record for the planet as a whole: Report

An annual report compiled by scientists around the globe has stated that the year 2016 was the warmest on record for the planet as a whole.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10 August 2017 released its annual checkup of the Earth, highlighting numerous records including hottest year, highest sea level, and lowest sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctica.

The 299-page report was published by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

The year 2016 even surpassed the temperature records that date back 137 years. For global temperatures, last year also surpassed the previous record-holder, i.e. the year 2015.

Key highlights of the annual report

• According to the annual, peer-reviewed State of the Climate report, the 2016 was a year of extremes and records, including the highest sea levels and lowest sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctica.

• The year was also one of the worst years for droughts.

• The report relies on the work of hundreds of scientists in 60 countries. It shows that 2016 was "very extreme and it is a cause for concern."

• 2016 witnessed new records for the greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. The rise in global carbon dioxide of 3.5 PPM was the largest year-over-year increase observed in the 58-year measurement record.

• In 2016, extreme weather was everywhere. Giant downpours were up. Heat waves struck all over the globe, including India. Extreme weather contributed to a gigantic wildfire in Canada.

• Global sea level rose another quarter of an inch for the sixth straight year of record high sea levels.

• There were 93 tropical cyclones across the globe, 13% more than normal. That included Hurricane Matthew that killed about 1000 people in Haiti.

• The world's glaciers shrank by an average of about 3 feet.

• Greenland's ice sheet in 2016 lost 341 billion tons of ice. It has lost 4400 billion tons of ice since 2002.