The 122,055 records set include record daily high and low temperatures as well as record rain and snow.
CNN reported on the record events, noting heat waves that hit Alaska and raised temps to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, a winter storm that brought snow to Hawaii, and rain that flooded the Midwest and hurt crops.
But the year also was marked by more climate activism.
The report, which compares the globe’s emissions reality to the levels needed to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord, found that greenhouse gas emissions would need to fall by nearly 8 percent each year in order to keep the Earth from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, the report says that target is currently far from reach.
“Every year of delay beyond 2020 brings a need for faster cuts, which become increasingly expensive, unlikely and impractical,” the report states. “Delays will also quickly put the 1.5C goal out of reach.”
In November, President Trump
Donald John TrumpFormer pro golfer advanced business interests of indicted Giuliani associates: report Republican group to run ads in target states demanding testimony from White House officials in Trump impeachment trial Mulvaney deputy tapped for White House tech post MORE officially pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, fulfilling a promise he had made on the campaign trail.
The move, which will officially go into effect in November 2020, will make the U.S. the only country in the world to reject the international agreement.
