The global time lapse from 1970 shows that 2015 warming is a continuation of a long term trend of global warming.
Looking back at just the month of December, 2015, 29 US states had the warmest December on record by nearly 6 degrees F, and parts of Europe also had a record warm December.
TAG: The current El Niño has played a part in the warming, but 2015 would be a record with or without El Niño.