5 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW HAPPENED IN 2016

On social media, 2016 has jokingly been called "the year on fire," and in terms of climate change, it was. Though there were some environmental successes this year, such as the Paris climate agreements becoming law, 2016 had some very depressing headlines regarding global warming and the planet's overall environmental health. Here are some of the most dismal news YOU DIDN'T KNOW  HAPPENED IN 2016."

1. The Hottest Year on Record

2016 burned through heat records, and the year is poised to be the hottest year since recordkeeping began 122 years ago, by a significant margin. At only the halfway point of 2016, NASA had announced that each of the first six months (from January to June) set new temperature records. Also, July and August were tied as the hottest month the world has seen in the last 136 years. By November, global temperatures had averaged 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The Copenhagen Accord in 2009 stated that warming should not increase by more than 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) this century, to hopefully avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The staggering heat felt this year follows what was the hottest five-year period on record, 2011-2015.

2.  400 PPM Milestone

Scientists predicted that this year the global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration would pass the 400 parts per million mark, permanently. In September, a month when carbon dioxide is typically at its lowest, the monthly value failed to drop below 400 ppm for the first time. The 400-ppm milestone is largely symbolic, a sign of modern civilization's devastating impact on the planet, climate scientists have said. Since the industrial revolution, humans have been adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than plants can take up. This process has driven carbon dioxide levels higher, adding to the greenhouse gas effect and increasing temperatures, along with many other climate change impacts.

3. Arctic Sea-Ice Lows

This year, the Arctic saw record lows for both the cover of sea ice during the winter (when it reaches its peak extent) winter and summer (when it reaches its minimum extent). Sea ice also made a virtually unprecedented cold-season retreat in mid-November due to unseasonably warm weather. Air temperatures set new records in the Arctic this year, and the Greenland Ice Sheet experienced its second earliest spring melt on record, according to NOAA's annual Arctic Report Card. The report found that in 2016 ice levels showed the strongest, most pronounced signal of persistent warming due to climate change. In fact, the Arctic has continued to warm at twice the rate of the planet as a whole. With winds pulling warmer air up from the south, some areas of the Arctic experienced temperatures 14 degrees F (8 degrees C) above average this year, according to the Arctic Report Card.

4. Climate Refugees Becoming a Reality

Global sea levels are on the rise due to climate change, and scientists this year have said the consequences could be even scarier than the worst-case scenarios predicted by climate models. Data collected by NASA satellites found that global sea levels are rising at a rate of about 1.9 millimeters (0.07 inches) per year, and models predict that sea levels could rise as much as 21 feet (6.4 meters) in the next century, if global warming continues unabated.

Globally, researchers estimated this year that about one-quarter of the world's population now lives in coastal areas that will be unlivable by the year 2100 because of rising sea levels. In the United States, new research suggested that more than 13 million Americans could become climate refugees if the oceans rise about 6 feet (1.8 m) by 2100. Rising seas would leave hundreds of U.S. counties permanently flooded. According to the study, Miami-Dade, Florida, would be the hardest-hit county — 2 million people could be forced to relocate by 2100. About half of all the potential climate refugees would be from Florida.

5. Deadly Tornado Clusters

Outbreaks of twisters that span several days, known as tornado clusters, are becoming more common as the warming planet causes shifts in weather patterns across the U.S. These cluster outbreaks are responsible for 79 percent of tornado-related fatalities. New research showed that the number of tornadoes per outbreak is increasing, and the chance of outbreaks has increased 4-fold. The study found that the risks from tornado outbreaks are rising far faster than previously recognized, and the trend will likely continue.

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