World Matched Record for Hottest September – Again

World Matched Record for Hottest September – Again

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The globe last month matched a record for the hottest September, set in 2005. It was the third time since 2000 that the world set or tied a heat record for September. In addition to 2012 and 2005, previous hot September records were set in 2003. And these records go back to 1880. Last month’s average temperature was 60.2 degrees Fahrenheit worldwide, which is 1.2 degrees above normal, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt said it may be worth studying why September, more than other months, keeps setting world records. It might be the lengthening of the Northern Hemisphere summer as a result of man-made global warming and continual loss of Arctic sea ice that indirectly helps cool other parts of the world, said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver. This is the 16th time that the world has set or tied a hot temperature record since 2000, according to NOAA. The last time the world set a cold temperature record was in December 1916, nearly 96 years ago. These record-setting trends are man-made global warming at work, Weaver said.