2017 Was The Second Warmest Year On Record
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It may be cold right now, but NASA researchers say 2017 was the second warmest year on record.
"We're seeing temperature change play out with areas that are warmer and cooler, but on average our planet's been heating up consistently since the 1850's," said Dr. Doug Morton of NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Five of the warmest years on record have happened since 2010, with 2016 clocking in as the hottest year ever. That warmth is heating up oceans, which in turn fuels more intense weather, like last year's back to back hurricanes.
But the greatest temperature rise is where you'd tend to least expect it.
According to Dr. Morton, there is "twice as much warming across the high latitudes, like Alaska."
With melting ice comes sea level rise and Maryland is already seeing the effect.
Even without storms, incidents of so-called nuisance flooding during high tides have been steadily increasing.
Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook
