The world’s heat record was broken for a second consecutive month. With the exception of Antarctica, new temperature highs were recorded on every continent.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released June’s results Monday, revealing an average global temperature of 61.2 degrees for the period. The result is 1.30 degrees higher than the 20th century average of 59.9 degrees, making this June the warmest in more than 130 years.
The same trend was seen in May, which experienced a 1.33 degree increase from the the average 58.6 degrees. Increases were most prominent in northern South America, Greenland, New Zealand, central Africa and southern Asia.
Derek Arndt, NOAA climate monitoring chief, attributes the warming to hotter oceans. His colleague, NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden, relays the role of a developing El Nino — the warming of Pacific Ocean — to June’s record heat.
The U.S. was not dramatically warm due to high levels of precipitation. Although it experienced its 33rd warmest June on record, the month was the wettest since 1989.
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