It was a recorded-breaking winter for Boston and the world – for very different reasons.

For Boston, a quick-hitting Sunday evening weather event dropped just enough snow to bring the city’s 2014-15 winter accumulation total to an all-time high of 108.6 inches.

For the world, above-average temperatures produced the warmest winter ever recorded on Earth (defined as December through February, to be exact).

Yep. According to a report released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), winter 2014-15 was the world’s warmest on record, with the average land and ocean surfaces temperature from December to February 1.42 degrees above the 20th century average.

Indeed, as NOAA’s map illustrates, most of the planet experienced a three-month-long heatwave this winter. But then there’s eastern North America, where Boston is located, which experienced cooler than average land and ocean temperatures.

The month of February, in particular, was warmer than usual; in fact, globally, it was the hottest February since 1998.

In contrast, February 2015 was one of the coldest in Boston history.

Scientifically, that’s concerning. Emotionally, that’s heartbreaking.

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