The global temperatures have been rising in recent years, setting a trend that included 2016 as the warmest year on record since 1880.

The past few years have found that the earth's surface temperature has been increasing, and 2016 is the third year in a row to set a new high for global temperatures.

“2016 is remarkably the third record year in a row in this series,” said Goddard Institute for Space Studies Director Gavin Schmidt. “We don’t expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.”

Some methods used to record temperatures change over time, but NASA has stated with a 95 percent certainty that 2016 has reached the record high.

The earth’s average surface temperature has risen by an average of about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius), largely due to increased carbon dioxide and human made emissions into the atmosphere.

A majority of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years occurring since 2001.

“It’s really the trend, and the fact that we’re punching at the ceiling every year now, that is the real indicator that we’re undergoing big changes,” said Deke Arndt, chief of global climate monitoring for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In 2016 the 48 contiguous United States experienced the second warmest mean temperature on record. In addition, the Arctic has been experiencing the warmest year, consistent with low sea ice.

The earth’s temperatures have begun to set a warming trend unlike any
seen before. These next few years will provide valuable insight on the earth’s
changing climate.