It may be freezing out now but 2014 was the hottest year in recorded history - and it had devastating effects

According to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2014 was the hottest year in recorded history, which, for weather, starts in 1880.

The global temperature average has increased by 1.4 degrees F, which may not seem like a lot, but the effects of the increase are being seen and felt globally.

Droughts, wildfires, melting ice caps, and violent thunderstorms can be caused by heightened temperatures, and the wrath of these phenomena can be long lasting.

Water shortages in South America, raging wildfires in California, and shrinking glaciers in the Arctic are just some of the signs of the heat.