CO2 crossed 400 parts per million for the first time in human history. Edward Snowden fled the country. Breaking Bad ended. The IPCC published its largest-ever climate assessment, and the word on everyone's lips was "pause." Warming appeared to have stalled. Reuters ran headlines about scientists struggling to explain the slowdown.
The ocean was swallowing heat the surface wasn't showing. The planet was warming at 0.2°C per decade. On schedule. On time.
Nobody called it the last year on schedule because nobody knew there was a schedule to lose.