Environment

2018 Was The Hottest Year On Record

CNN reports that 2018 was the hottest year ever... And we're not talking about when it comes to playing cool. A study shows that last year was literally the warmest for the world's oceans since global records tracking started in 1958. Scientific findings were published on Wednesday in Advances in the Atmospheric Sciences journal. Scientists say that a hot ocean is directly linked to global warming. CNN explains, it "continues a startling trend of global ocean warming that is a direct result of humans' warming of the planet." The study shows that oceans are warming a lot quicker than scientists initially thought, which can lead to many problems. They include rising sea levels, more intense storms with heavier rain, coral bleaching and melting polar ice. CNN reports that warmer water in 2018 kickstarted the major hurricanes and typhoons that happened globally, like Super Typhoon Mangkhut which wrecked the Philippines and Hong Kong. It was also responsible for fueling hurricanes Michael and Florence, which brought massive winds, destruction and devastating floods to the US Southeast.