Our global temperature continued its upward trend last month with July 2019 marking not only the warmest July on record, but also the warmest month ever recorded for the entire planet. The previous record was set just three years ago in July 2016.

According to a report by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Earth’s combined average temperature for the month – over both land and sea surfaces – was 62.11°F. That is 1.71°F above the 20th-century average. Since July is the Earth’s warmest month of the year climatologically, the July 2019 global temperature is now the highest temperature for any month on record.

July 2019 also marked the 415th consecutive month with a global temperature above its long-term norm. That means the last time any month posted a below-average reading was December 1984. Furthermore, nine of the ten warmest Julys have occurred since 2005, with the last five years producing the five warmest Julys on record. July 1998 is the only year from the last century on the top ten list.

While heat dominated most of the planet this July, some places were particularly warm, including Europe as well as parts of Asia, Africa, and Australia. In the United States, Alaska posted its warmest month ever recorded. For the contiguous US, the month tied July 1917 as the 27th warmest July on record.

These soaring temperatures are largely attributed to the long-term trend of human-caused climate change. As greenhouse gases continue to spew into the atmosphere, global temperatures are expected to continue to rise.

Year to date, the first seven months of 2019 tied 2017 as the second warmest such period of any year on record. At this point, it is very likely that 2019 will finish among the top five warmest years on record. Global temperature records date back to 1880.

July 2019 was the warmest month ever recorded on this planet. Credit: NOAA