2017 was one of the hottest years on record: report

Last year was one of the hottest on record, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) released Wednesday. 

The annual State of the Climate report found that 2017 had a near-record high for the globe’s surface temperature, ranking as the second- or third-highest since data collection began in the mid-1800s.

The ten warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998, with the four warmest years occurring since 2014, the report noted.

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2017 was also the warmest year ever recorded that was not affected by an El Niño, a periodic climatic event that warms the Pacific Ocean, according to the report.

Argentina, Uruguay, Spain and Bulgaria all reported record high annual temperatures, as well as Mexico.

Mexico experienced record-high temperatures for a fourth year in a row, according to NOAA.

Last year also featured the highest concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, NOAA indicated. 

President Trump on Thursday rolled back the Obama administration’s fuel economy and global warning standards for cars, stripping California and individual states of its ability to determine its own vehicle regulations for greenhouse gas emissions. 

As sea surfaces continues to warm, the world’s glaciers are melting by an average of 72 feet off their tops since 1980, NOAA reported. 

Climate change is also leading to coral bleaching. NOAA found that 2014 to 2017 was “the longest, most widespread, and almost certainly most destructive on record,” the report notes.

Mass coral bleaching is happening every six years as the oceans continue to warm, an acceleration from a rate of every 25 to 30 years in the 1980s.

Shifts in climate metrics can cause extreme weather events like heatwaves, downpours and wildfires, the report notes.

The State of the Climate report is a collaboration between 500 scientists in 60 countries.