We Just Lived Through the Hottest Month of All Time

According to NASA, July 2016 was “absolutely the hottest month” since people started keeping records.

Heat wave in NYC
Getty

Heat wave in NYC

Heat wave in NYC

NASA just released their temperature data for July, and the results are historic—if not exactly surprising to anyone who stepped outdoors at any point this summer. Last month, the Earth was the hottest it has been since records started being kept 136 years ago. The previous record holders were July 2015 and July 2011.

Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, announced the results on Twitter.

This marks the 10th month in a row that there have been record-breaking temperatures for each individual month. July is traditionally the hottest month of the year. But this July, temperatures were an extremely significant 1.51 degrees above the 1951-1980 average. 

In some places, things were worse than that. Some of the Arctic was was over seven degrees warmer than average. Mitribah, Kuwait soared to 129.2 degrees. If that figure is confirmed, it will mark the hottest temperature ever in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Unsurprisingly, scientists connect these warming temperatures to the increasing number of extreme weather events, including flooding happening in Maryland and China

Schmidt claims that there is a 99% chance that 2016 will become the hottest year on record, defeating the previous record-holders, 2015 and 2014. 

NASA's results can be seen here

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