Official reports confirm that 2020 ranked among the warmest years ever recorded, potentially equaling or slightly trailing 2016 for the highest temperature in recorded history, based on data from U.S. governmental sources. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration indicated a tie with 2016, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration placed 2020 just behind 2016’s figures.

Regardless of the precise ranking, experts at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York and NOAA agree that the overall climate outlook is concerning.

“The past seven years represent the seven warmest years on record, clearly demonstrating a continuing and substantial warming pattern,” stated GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. “Whether a single year sets a new record is less significant than the long-term trends. As human influence on the climate grows, we should anticipate further record-breaking years.”

This assessment carries serious implications for the country, given the substantial costs associated with last year’s unprecedented 22 weather and climate disasters. NOAA reports that at least 262 lives were lost and numerous individuals were injured due to these climate-related events.

The combined impact of wildfires, droughts, heatwaves, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, and severe weather occurrences – including hailstorms in Texas and the Midwest derecho – resulted in $95 billion in damages.

Both agencies monitor temperature trends to assess the effects of human activities – particularly greenhouse gas emissions – on the planet. This analysis reveals that human activity has already contributed to an increase of over 2 degrees Fahrenheit in Earth’s average temperature since the late 19th century, when the industrial era began.

Of particular concern to scientists is that this year’s near-record temperatures occurred without the influence of El Niño, a significant climate pattern characterized by periodic ocean warming.

“The previous record year, 2016, benefited from a strong El Niño event. The absence of a similar boost from El Niño this year indicates that the underlying climate continues to warm due to greenhouse gases,” Schmidt explained.

NASA data indicates that the warming trend is most pronounced in the Arctic. Over the last three decades, temperatures there have risen at three times the rate of the rest of the world, according to Schmidt. The decline in Arctic sea ice – decreasing by approximately 13% per decade at its annual minimum – reduces the region’s reflectivity, leading to increased absorption of sunlight and further temperature increases.

These accelerating effects of climate change pose a significant threat globally, as noted by Katharine Hayhoe, a professor at Texas Tech University, in an email to The Washington Post.

“What worries climate scientists is the uncertainty surrounding self-reinforcing cycles within the Earth’s climate system,” Hayhoe wrote. “The more we push the climate beyond historical norms, the greater the risk of severe and potentially dangerous consequences. We’ve already witnessed this this year. The question is no longer if climate change impacts will occur, but how much worse they will become.”