That means average land and sea temperatures, worldwide, have never been hotter in modern times, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the gold standard for global climate data) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (the guys who put a man on the moon).
This isn’t about whether we believe in science: It’s about whether we believe the thermometer.
In fact, the 16 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1997, the new data confirm, contributing to widening deserts, rising seas, withering drought, ravaging storms, blistering heat and other climate change impacts reaching from the tiniest African village to our own backyards.
–
Read CNNOpinion’s Flipboard magazine
