In recent times, there is a lot of talk about climate change and its effects, which is not surprising: records have been breaking for about 30 years. With the rise of the internet and social media, humanity may be more informed than ever, so it is common for these topics to come up in conversations.
2016 was one of the warmest since records began 137 years ago, and the third in a row, according to the State of the Climate annual report made with contributions from more than 450 scientists from nearly 60 countries.
The most important effects and natural disasters of the year were the following:
- Higher concentration of greenhouse gases: Last year, carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were 402.9 parts per million (ppm), 3.5ppm higher than in 2015. It was also the largest increase observed in 58 years.
- Increase in average temperature: Helped in part by the El Niño phenomenon, the average temperature was between 0,45 and 0,56 degrees Celsius above the 1981-2010 average.
- Increase in the average temperature of the oceanic surface: the average temperature increased between 0,36 and 0,41 degrees Celsius, thus surpassing the 2015 record by 0,02-0,05ºC.
- Sea level rise was the highest on record: The global average sea level rose 82mm in 2016. It was the highest rise observed since the data began to be recorded in 1993.
- There were more tropical cyclones: In total, there were 93. The 1981-2010 average was 82. The North Atlantic and the eastern and western Pacific experienced higher activity.
- The Arctic continues to melt: The maximum extent of Arctic sea ice during March last year was the smallest observed by satellite in the last 37 years.
Image - NOAA
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