Record year.

The planet has just had its first full year where temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, according to the EU's climate reporting agency and reported by Reuters.

Though climate scientists have largely predicted the world will blow past 1.5 degrees of warming, seeing headlines like this is still a stark and shocking reminder of the urgency of climate work.

Headshot of Cat Clifford

Cat Clifford

Senior Science and Economics Correspondent