Summer-on-Steroids Kicks Off With Record Global Temperatures
June set a new record for heat, as did each of the 13 preceding months.
Last month wasn’t just the hottest June on record—it continued the longest-ever streak of record-breaking months: 14.
The start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere gave us the hottest June since 1880, according to data released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). That follows the hottest May, April, March, February, January, December, November, October, September, August, and July. Before June 2016, June 2015 held the monthly record, as did May 2015.
Last year’s massive El Niño warming pattern in the Pacific Ocean is over, but unprecedented heat remains across the planet. The extremes of recent months are such that we’re only halfway into 2016 and there’s already a greater than 99 percent likelihood that this year will be the hottest on record, according to Gavin Schmidt, who directs NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. NASA and NOAA maintain independent records of the Earth’s temperatures, but they both agree that last month was a scorcher.
The interactive chart below shows Earth’s warming climate, measured by land and sea, dating back to 1880.
