The news that 2017 was either the second or third-warmest year on record, depending on the agency doing the official tallying, is not shocking. The past three years were each among the top three warmest on record, with 2016 coming out as the clear winner.
To climate scientists, individual years and where they rank are not particularly significant. Instead, it is the long-term trend that matters, and that's what has climate scientists so concerned about our future.
Image: Global average surface temperature departures from average during 2017.IMAGE: BERKELEY EARTH
