News / Politics

Climate change helped fuel record heat in 2016, a US government report says

Friday, 11 August 2017 6:44 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 11 August 2017 9:04 AM ]

Experts say wildfires like this one in a forest in Artigues, France, will likely become more frequent as global temperatures soar under climate change. (AFP photo)

A US government report shows that global warming helped fuel the hottest year on record in 2016, contradicting President Donald Trump’s claim that climate change is a “hoax.”

The report released on Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also found that greenhouse gas concentrations reaching a new high

The report cited a strong El Nino cycle as a factor behind the third consecutive year of record global warmth.

The United States is already feeling the effects of climate change, with temperatures rising dramatically over the last four decades, according to a recent report by 13 federal agencies.

A study released last month by the Union of Concerned Scientists said dozens of US cities may face chronic flooding over the next few decades if global warming is not mitigated.

The study warned that America's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement could increase the impact of global warming and add to greenhouse gas emissions.

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Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement earlier this year, alarming the science community and causing widespread condemnation around the world.

The president has taken a hard stance on climate change; at times calling it a “hoax” by China.

Trump has said the Paris accord is soft on leading polluters like China and India, putting US industry at risk, but says he would be open to a better deal for the United States.

During this year’s G20 summit in July in Hamburg, Germany, the leaders of major world economies mounted a nearly united opposition front against the US on a range of issues, including climate change, trade and migrant policies.

The accord, which was signed by nearly 200 countries and entered into force on November 4, 2016, seeks to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius or less by 2100, mainly through pledges to cut carbon dioxide and other emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

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