A new report published in Weather confirms that 2016 was another exceptionally warm year, with global temperature having reached 0.77± 0.09?C above its level between 1961 and 1990. Although 2016 was not measurably warmer than 2015, both 2015 and 2016 were clearly warmer than any other year in the record.
The record high global temperatures in 2015 and 2016, which saw global temperatures reach 1degC above pre-industrial levels, were the result of the long-term temperature rise attributed to greenhouse gases in combination with a temporary boost from a major El Niño event. In addition, the Arctic was exceptionally warm, particularly during 2016.
Dr John Kennedy of the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services, lead author of the report, said, "Climatically, 2015 and 2016 saw both long-term human-induced climate change and the naturally-occurring El Niño combine to produce the two warmest years on record for global temperature. However, as the other indicators of 2016 prove, there are many more measures of the climate than global temperatures: from local extremes of temperature and rainfall to an unexpected drop in Antarctic sea ice."
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Journal
Weather