Last year was one of Earth's hottest years on record and I can't believe I'm writing this story again

It's unanimous: 2017 was one of Earth's warmest years on record, continuing an impressive and quickening trend seen since the dawn of the industrial revolution. 

It's unanimous - 2017 was Earth's warmest year on record.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, the UK Met Office, and other groups that monitor the planet's thermostat, 2017 was by far the warmest year to occur without an El Niño event, which can boost ocean and air temperatures and was partly responsible for propelling 2016 to the top spot on the list of warmest years. 

While each group differs slightly in their final numbers and rankings, the numbers they came up with differ mainly because of the way they calculate temperatures in data-poor regions, such as the rapidly warming Arctic.

Read the Mashable Australia story by Andrew Freedman - ”Last year was one of Earth's hottest years on record and I can't believe I'm writing this story again.”

Heatwave deaths almost ignored as bushfire deaths steal the headlines

R

eporting of the 300 plus deaths in the week leading up to the February 2009 “Black Saturday” bushfires was almost ignored as the 173 deaths from the actual event stole the headlines.

A week of punishing temperatures proved more deadly than the fires themselves.

Such extreme events will become more common as global warming tightens its grip on earth.

The Pakistani newspaper Dawn tells how heat alone has ripped through parts of India.

It reports: “Another 105 people died of heatstroke on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 1,116 in Sindh, even though the harsh weather that has overwhelmed the province for a week subsided considerably.

“Officials said the number of heatstroke patients arriving at hospitals had reduced significantly on Thursday because the weather was quite windy and, at times, cloudy, but it failed to completely stop the heatwave attacking them.

“On Thursday, at least 90 people died in Karachi and 15 in other districts of Sindh,” a government official said.

“Hyderabad, Thatta, Matiari and Benazirabad were among the districts where these fatalities occurred,” the paper said.

Read the Dawn story - “Heatwave death toll in Sindh tops 1,000”.