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Earth’s warmest year

ANOTHER THING WE’VE BEEN ENJOYING: SOME UNSEASONABLY WARM WEATHER! IF YOU DITCHED YOUR WINTER COAT LAST WEEK, IT MIGHT NOT COME AS A SURPRISE THAT OUR WINTERS HAVE BEEN GETTING WARMER, AND, ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD THING, THIS WARMTH IS ACTUALLY PART OF A TROUBLING TREND.

LAST YEAR WAS OFFICIALLY THE EARTH'S WARMEST SINCE RECORD-KEEPING BEGAN IN THE 1880'S. THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCED WEDNESDAY MORNING THAT 2016 SET A GLOBAL HEAT RECORD FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW.

TEMPERATURES OVER THE EARTH'S CONTINENTS AND OCEANS IN 2016 WERE ONE-POINT-ONE DEGREE CELSIUS HIGHER THEN THEY WERE 250 YEARS AGO.
CLIMATE SCIENTISTS SAY GREENHOUSE GAS POLLUTION, WHICH HUMANS ARE CREATING - PRIMARILY BY BURNING FOSSIL FUELS AND CHOPPING DOWN RAINFORESTS, LIKELY CONTRIBUTED TO THE 2016 RECORD.

THIS TREND IS MOSTLY A PROBLEM IN THE ARTIC, WHERE MELTING SEA ICE IS DESTROYING HABITATS FOR ANIMALS LIKE POLAR BEARS AND SEALS.

Instructional Links

Website Article & Video, NASA 2016 Climate Trends Continue to Break Records

Website:U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, A Student’s Guide to Global Climate Change. | Includes classroom resources, interactive calculator and game.

Website: American Museum of Natural History, Climate Change | Includes information, games and activities

Website Article: National Wildlife Federation, Global Warming