It's officially been confirmed that the last five years were the hottest on record worldwide. New climate data released today reveals climate change could be behind recent extreme weather. The earth is warming at an alarming rate according to a new climate study from the US, with last year one of the hottest years ever and that's even without El Niño. The grim findings come as no surprise to experts, with climate scientist James Renwick saying that while he isn't shocked, he thinks the population at large should be and need to be aware that "Climate change is looming large in all of our futures." Global warming has been linked to polar ice melting, sea levels rising, stronger cyclones and fire seasons burning hotter and longer - like the wild fire that ravaged California last year.