On Wednesday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists marked a disturbing new milestone in Earth’s history: 2016 has been officially declared the warmest year on record. The previous record was set in 2015, which beat record highs in 2014. That means that for three years in a row, global temperatures have continued to soar to unprecedented highs unlike anything we’ve seen in the modern era. Part of the record-busting temperatures in 2015 and 2016 could be attributed to an unusually warm El Niño, however, without the ongoing release of greenhouse gasses into the air, even the recent weather phenomenon couldn’t have made such a strong impact.