Children cool off in a fountain in Washington Square Park in the Manhattan borough of New York City on a hot summer day August 4, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar -

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global warming helped fuel the hottest year on record in 2016, with greenhouse gas concentrations reaching a new high, a U.S. government report released on Thursday said.

The report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also cited a strong El Nino cycle as a factor behind the third consecutive year of record global warmth.