Publication Date March 17, 2016 | Weather Underground

NOAA Agrees: February 2016 Was Earth's Warmest Month in Recorded History

Departure from average for the global February temperature for the years 1880 - 2016. This year had by far the warmest February temperatures on record. Image: NOAA/National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Departure from average for the global February temperature for the years 1880 - 2016. This year had by far the warmest February temperatures on record. Image: NOAA/National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

February 2016 was by far the planet's warmest February since record keeping began in 1880, and was also the warmest month relative to average of any month in the historical record. The impressive global warmth in recent months is due to the steady build-up of heat-trapping greenhouse gases due to human activities, plus a spike due to a large amount of heat being released from waters in the Eastern Pacific due to the strong El Niño event there