2020 tied for hottest year on record globally A report released by NOAA and NASA this week shows that 2020 was the hottest year on record, tying with 2016. and last updated 2021-01-16 16:28:58-05 2020 was an unprecedented year globally. That can also be said about climate change. A report released by NOAA and NASA this week shows that 2020 was the hottest year on record, tying with 2016. In fact, the last seven years have been the warmest on record. These trends likely mean more extreme weather events in the future. For Arizona and the Desert Southwest, this includes droughts and wildfires, according to NASA scientist Tom Neumann.