FILE – People cool off in the water on a hot and sunny day at the beach in Barcelona, Spain, July 15, 2022. Earth’s fever persisted last year, not quite spiking to a record high but still in the top five or six warmest on record, government agencies reported Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

DENVER (AP) — Government science teams say that 2022 didn’t quite set a record for heat, but it was in the top five or six warmest on record depending on who’s doing the measuring. And NOAA, NASA and others say the last eight years have been the warmest eight on record. Thursday’s release of global temperature data includes several agencies from around the globe. At least 28 countries, including China and the United Kingdom, set national records for hottest years on record. Scientists expect this year to be even warmer and next year could shatter records. That’s because this year was cooled by a La Nina that will likely dissipate.