In this Aug. 12, 2016 photo, the Pastoruri glacier is reflected in a lagoon in the Huascaran National Park in Huaraz, Peru. Glacial lakes are often pretty fragile structures, created when rocks and rubble carried by a glacier form a moraine that dams up its water outflow. The dam can also be created by chunks of a glacier’s own ice. These inherently unstable structures can collapse quickly, especially in places like Peru that are prone to frequent, violent earthquakes. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

It's official. 2016 was the hottest year ever.

By Mike Denison

January 18, 2017 02:05 PM EST

After month after record-breaking month, 2016 was officially declared the hottest year on record Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That's the third year in a row a new record has been set.

Global temperatures were 1.69 degrees Fahrenheit above the average recorded during the past 137 years. The average land temperature was 2.57 degrees above average.

Eight of the first nine months of the year established new record temperatures for those months.

We don't expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.

Gavin Schmidt, NASA

A separate analysis by NASA, also released Wednesday, found the same results. Both studies also found the Antarctic sea ice was the second-smallest it has ever been, while the Arctic was the smallest ever.

NASA's Analysis of 2016 Global Temperature

WATCH | NASA broke down the temperature changes in this video.

2016 was the hottest year on record, continuing a decades-long warming trend, according to @NASAGISS and @NOAA. https://t.co/YeZsrIopgl pic.twitter.com/53bvRxQoyG
— NASA GISS (@NASAGISS) January 18, 2017

And they did it again in GIF form.

Hottest year ever: 2016
Previous record? 2015.
Before that? 2014.
If the climate were a ball player it'd be headed to the Hall of Fame.
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) January 18, 2017