Past 3 years are the hottest on record

The World Meteorogical Group (WMO) confirmed that 2015, 16 and 17 were the hottest years on record.

2016 was the hottest at 1.2 degrees celsius above pre industrial era while 2017 and 2015 were roughly the same at about 1.1 degrees celsius above pre industrial era. Part of the record high temperatures in 2017 can be explained by the El Nino phenomena, whereas 2017 only had slight effects from La Nina.

Increases in surface temperatures have the effects of rasing sea levels and causing stronger storms. These were made clear in 2017 with the breakoff of an Antarctic iceberg twice the size of Luxembourg as well as the Atlantic hurricanes which caused an estimated $270bn of damages, marking 2017 as the most expensive disaster year in US history.