AS 2016 comes to a close, the World Meteorological Organization has confirmed that the year will be the hottest ever, breaking the record set in 2015. This year saw temperatures climbing to 51 degrees Celsius in central India and to 45 degrees in parts of Thailand. Even in Singapore, the mercury soared to 36.7 in April, only a shade lower than the all-time high of 37 degrees.

Yet, 2016 will also be remembered as monumental for the fight against global climate change. Countries came together in three separate forums and negotiated agreements to put forward their best efforts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and managing climate change impacts.

Last year in December, the global summit in Paris resulted in the strongest, most ambitious global climate agreement ever negotiated. For the first time, developing countries agreed to reduce their emissions, with the overall objective of restricting global temperature rise to less than two degrees.