Publication Date January 25, 2016 | Slate Magazine

2015: Hot, Hotter, Hottest

Photo: peasap, modified by Phil Plait
Photo: peasap, modified by Phil Plait

No matter how you slice it, how you analyze it, last year was by far the hottest year on record...

Of course, single records aren’t as important as trends. In this case, the trend is incredibly obvious: up...

Even without El Niño, 2015 would have been the hottest year on record. While there’s an effect, of course—El Niño only accounts for about 0.07°C of extra temperature—it’s not the primary reason 2015 was the hottest year on record.

The primary reason is global warming.