NASA, the Japan Meteorological Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have all come to the same conclusion: Earth had its warmest June on record this year. And what’s worse is that this year is shaping up to be the warmest ever recorded.
June was Earth’s warmest month, and 2015 is its warmest year so far
June was the third month this year to break a monthly temperature record
June was the third month this year to break a monthly temperature record
is a freelance science journalist, podcast host, comics artist, and TV host.
If you think you’ve seen this article before, that’s probably because June was the third month this year to break a monthly temperature record, according to Mashable. And even before 2015, articles entitled “the warmest [insert here] on record” were fairly common. And that’s exactly why these types of reports are worrisome.
June topped the 20th-century average by 2.27 degrees Fahrenheit
The average global temperature across all land surfaces in June topped the 20th-century average by 2.27 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, the 12-month period prior to July was the warmest ever, NOAA reports. Part of this has to do with the strong El Nino phenomenon taking place in the tropical Pacific Ocean. But given that a lot of the record temperatures that Earth has seen recently took place during years where there was no such event, El Nino can’t be blamed for everything.
“Climate change is a long-term driver,” Deke Arnt, head of climate monitoring at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, told Mashable. El Nino, on the other hand, is more like a short burst that boosts temperatures on a global level, for a short period of time. “They play together to produce outcomes like what is likely to be the warmest year on record.”
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
