We’ve broken so many temperature records lately, I’m starting to sound like a broken record. In 2014, we broke the record for the hottest year; next, we broke the record for the hottest first-half of any year; and now, NASA, the Japan Meteorological Administration, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association all say we’ve shattered another big one: July 2015 was the hottest month on record.
According to NOAA, combined global ocean and land temperatures last month were 1.46 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, the warmest they’ve been in the 136 years that scientists have been paying attention. As you can see in the above graphic, those temperature anomalies and a strong El Niño did funny things to weather patterns all over the globe.
So after all this, it probably won’t come as a surprise when I tell you that 2015 is on track to be the hottest year on record, and I know we’re on a roll, but…let’s mix it up for a change. How about “record-breaking emissions reductions?”
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