Last year was the warmest on record, even though El Nino failed to show up. Most of the previous hottest years, such as 1998, have come with the warmer sea surfaces that El Nino brings. If there ever was a warming hiatus, it is over. The long-term trend continues. The world is warming by 0.16 °C per decade. The effects are evident: record heatwaves, as in Australia, and record floods - and snow - in many places, with Mozambique and the US the latest to feel the effects. Sea level is rising ever faster. Sea ice in the Arctic is vanishing. But there's a blip in the big picture. The winter sea ice around Antarctica has grown slightly over the past few decades. It is not clear why (see page 40).
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