2017 second warmest year ever after 2016

In case you were wondering, yes, the planet is still on fire:

Even without the help of El Niño, 2017 was a top-three scorcher for planet Earth.

Global temperatures last year were the third-highest since scientists began keeping records in 1880, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Measurements from NASA placed it even higher, coming in second over the last 138 years.

Both agencies said the average global surface temperature in 2017 was only slightly below the record-high temperature seen in 2016.

Two years ago, the average temperature across land and ocean surfaces jumped 1.69 degrees above the 20th century average of 57 degrees, according to NOAA. It remained high last year, coming in at 1.51 degrees above the previous century's average.

That makes the last three years — 2015, 2016 and 2017 — the hottest ones since 1880. In fact, both analyses agree that five of the hottest years have occurred just since 2010.

"The fact that 2017 was so warm in a year without El Niño should make very clear how rapidly Earth's global temperature is increasing," said Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate scientist at Stanford University who was not involved with the either NASA's or NOAA's report.

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Ho-hum, nothing to see here. And when cities start emptying because collapsed agriculture, rising sea levels and extreme weather forces everyone to relocate the remains of our civilization, there really will be nothing to see.

(via @adamconover)