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Temperatures were the coolest since 2014, a change from the previous five years that market the warmest in recorded history.

The average global surface temperature has risen more than 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1880s, according to U.S. government data, which is largely driven by releases of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by human activities like energy production and transportation.

Warmer temperatures can disrupt weather patterns, amplify the threat from events like wildfires and flooding, among other changes.

\"PHOTO:
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
PHOTO: An aerial view from a drone shows a woman crossing a street inundated with flood water, Dec. 23, 2019, in Hallandale, Fla.
>

Precipitation was almost 5 inches above average in most of the United States in 2019, the second wettest year on record.

2019 contiguous U.S. precipitation total was 34.78 inches, 4.84 inches above average—the second wettest year on record: https://t.co/yrW6T9VMzH #StateOfClimate pic.twitter.com/7cXH6PwAHg

— NOAA NCEI Climate (@NOAANCEIclimate) January 8, 2020

There were 14 disaster events costing more than $1 billion in the U.S. in 2019, including tropical storms Dorian and Imelda, wildfire damage and the combined flooding from the Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers. The number of $1 billion inland flooding events has increased over the last decade.

ABC News' Max Golembo contributed to this report.

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