Last year was the Earth's warmest since record-keeping began in 1880, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. The year where 10 out of 12 months were warmest on record.
According to the agencies, 15 of the 16 warmest years, including 2015, have occurred during the 21st century. The warmth was aided by the near-record strong El Niño that developed during the Northern Hemisphere spring in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean.
The end of 2015 was especially remarkable for the United States, where December was the warmest and wettest month.
The time-series in the form of an animation of the NOAA Global Temperature dataset shows the globally averaged temperature, over land and ocean surfaces for 2015, being the highest since record keeping began in 1880.
