Amid fears of global warming, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that 2015 was the warmest year in the history of the world since records began. NY1's John Davitt filed the following report.

The weather in New York last year was a story of extremes. The polar vortex in February and March froze the Big Apple to it's core and dumped 50 inches of snow, but when autumn saw record warmth and balmy temperatures in what was the warmest December on record, it had New Yorkers wondering if winter was going to take the year off.

2015 ended up tied as the sixth-warmest on record in the city. This followed a global trend.

"2015 is absolutely the warmest year we have seen since we have these long-term records that have spun over a century," said Carlos Del Castillo, a scientist with NASA.

It was the second consecutive year the world experienced the hottest annual temperatures on record.

Not only was the record broken, scientists say it was shattered by a large margin. And with the new numbers, nine of the 10 warmest years have occurred since 2000.

As for the why, the scientists said a major warming of the topical waters of the Pacific - that's El Niño - played a role but that people are the real problem, burning coal, oil and gas.

"The increase in temperature is caused by the presence of greenhouses gases. Carbon dioxide and methane, they trap heat in the atmosphere," Del Castillo said. "We have known this for many, many years.

That warmer air can hold more moisture, setting the stage for more ferocious storms. And the outlook for 2016 is more of the same.

"We are starting quite warm already, so we cannot say if we are going to break another record. Hopefully not," Del Castillo said. "But it’s definitely going to be up there."

The announcement of the global heat record comes as the East Coast braces for a potentially huge snowstorm, but big snows can occur even as the average annual temperatures rises.

So the bottom line is, it's likely we'll continue to see more extreme weather, and NY1 will be here to track it and keep you prepared.