The United Nations has released new data on the accelerating impact of climate change. The U.N. World Meteorological Organization reports 13 of the 14 warmest years on record have all occurred in this century. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia saw its hottest year on record last year, while Argentina saw its second hottest. The agency’s secretary-general, Michel Jarraud, described the global trend.

Michel Jarraud: “Every decade has been warmer than the preceding one over the last 40 years. In other words, the decade 2001-2010 was warmer than the '90s, which in turn were warmer than the ’80s, which were warmer than the ’70s. All the best models were used for this study, and the conclusion is actually very interesting and of concern. The conclusion is that these heat waves, it is not possible to reproduce these heat waves in the models if you don't take into account human influence.”

Jarraud also noted greenhouse gases are at a record high, meaning that Earth’s atmosphere and oceans will continue to warm for centuries to come.