A couple sits under an umbrella in La Jolla, California on May 12, 2014. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday that last month was the hottest since record keeping began in 1880. Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters
Last month the average global temperature was the highest recorded for March since record keeping began in 1880, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Friday.
Average global temperature, including both land and ocean surfaces, was 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit (0.85 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average.
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“Record warm temperatures continued to dominate in the northeast Pacific Ocean and were also notable in the southwest Pacific and parts of the Arctic Seas to the north and northwest of Scandinavia,” NOAA said in its report. “Overall, every major ocean basin had at least some areas with record warmth and large areas with much warmer-than-average temperatures.”
The first quarter of this year, from January to March, had already broken records. It was the hottest such period in the administration’s 136-year archive.
Last year was the hottest ever recorded in modern history.
If current trends continue, 2015 will likely surpass 2014’s record.
“It seems quite likely that Earth will continue to see record or near-record high temperatures over the next several months,” NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden told Climate Central.
With the exception of 1998, the ten hottest years on record have occurred since 2000.
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