July Makes 15 Record Hot Months in a Row

July marked an unprecedented 15th straight record-hot month, according to data released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, whose records go back to 1880.

NOAA’s temperature data also confirmed that July was not only the record warmest July ever, but the hottest month ever on record, in agreement with NASA data released Monday.

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To put this year’s temperatures into that context, Climate Central has been reanalyzing NOAA and NASA data each month. The two datasets are averaged and then compared to the average from 1881-1910, a baseline closer to the preindustrial period.

The temperature from January through July this year is 1.31˚C (2.36˚F) above the average from that period.

How the year-to-date temperature has progressed each month is represented in the graph at top. It reached a peak during winter when monthly temperature anomalies (or the amount each month was hotter than average) were at their apex.

During those months, the global average temperature was edging very close to 1.5˚C above preindustrial times. The average has since come down slightly, following the slight drop in monthly anomalies, though is still well above 2015 and indicative of the long-term trend in warming