Weather and Natural Disasters

August is 16th consecutive month of record-breaking global heat

A man keeps cool as he sits in the fountain at Washington Square Park in New York City.
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A hot August marks the 16th month in a row of record-breaking temperatures around the world, according to data released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Land and sea surface temperature averages beat last year's August records, and are in some cases more than a full degree above 20th century averages for the month, based on collections of records that date as far back as 1880. And the year-to-date temperatures surpassed records set in 2015 by 0.29 degrees.

For example, the global average land surface temperature was more than two degrees above the 20th century average, beating last year's August record by 0.34 degrees.

While Africa and Asia both saw record-breaking temperatures, things were a bit calmer in North America — the continent was only the sixth highest departure from average since 1910.