If you felt the heat this past July, you are hardly alone.
July saw the
highest average temperatures since record-keeping began -- globally, not just
in the United States -- the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
reported Thursday.
Globally, the
first seven months of the year also had all-time highs. The latest global
temperature data make it likely that 2015 will be the hottest year on record,
the agency said.
NOAA's findings
follow reports by NASA and the Japan Meteorological Agency, which reached the
same conclusion using their own data.
Thursday's report "is reaffirming what we already
know," NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch said. "The world is
warming. It's continuing to warm."
Data from NOAA dates back to 1880, but it is possible that July
was the hottest month in at least 4,000 years. Climate research suggests these
are the hottest temperatures the Earth has seen since the Bronze Age.
The prediction
for 2015 becoming the hottest year on record is based on observed temperatures
so far, plus the coming El Niño event.
NOAA predicts
that a
strong El Niño is building, one that could rival the intensity of the record
1997 event that influenced weather-related havoc across the globe, from
mudslides in California to fires in Australia.
"There is a
greater than 90% chance that El Niño will continue through Northern Hemisphere
winter 2015-16, and around an 85% chance it will last into early spring
2016," NOAA said in a statement.
The temperatures
What made July the hottest month on
record?
According to
NOAA, the average global temperatures in July were 1.46 degrees Fahrenheit
warmer than the 20th Century average. This measurement includes land and ocean
temperatures.
Breaking it
down, the land temperature globally was 1.73 degrees Fahrenheit higher than
average, making it the sixth warmest July on land. On the water, ocean
temperatures were 1.35 degrees Fahrenheit higher, making it the warmest monthly
ocean temperature on record.
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