According to the sentence, “The weather was exceptionally hot; nonetheless, the ...

Questão de Inglês da banca CPCON aplicada no concurso Prefeitura de Lagoa Seca PB (2024). Confira a resolução completa abaixo:

According to the sentence, “The weather was exceptionally hot; nonetheless, the hikers decided to continue their journey,” what is the function of the word "nonetheless"?