NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that 2016 was the hottest year on record, making it the third year in a row to break records. While the most severe consequences of this global warming is yet to be felt, the world is already experiencing the impacts of growing climate change, writes Sean Greene for Los Angeles Times.

The American West has seen a dramatic increase in wildfires over the last 30 years, Greene writes, with 16,000 square miles burned since the 1980s — an area of destruction equal to Connecticut and Massachusetts combined. Global warming is also melting glaciers and sea ice, which in turn raises sea levels. By the end of the century, sea levels could rise by 6 feet or more, Greene reports.