Our global temperature continued its upward trend last month with July 2018 marking the fourth warmest July ever recorded on this planet. Only July 2015, 2016, and 2017 were warmer, with July 2016 holding the top spot.

According to the State of the Climate report by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Earth’s combined average temperature for July – over both land and sea surfaces – was 61.75°F, which is 1.35°F above the 20th-century average. July also marked the 403rd 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.

While heat dominated most of the planet this July, some places were particularly warm, including much of Europe, Scandinavia, the western United States, and parts of southern Asia. For the contiguous US as a whole, July 2018 tied with 1998 as the eleventh warmest July on record.

These soaring temperatures are largely attributed to the long-term trend of human-caused climate change. ENSO-neutral conditions prevailed in July, which means there was neither a warm El Niño nor a cool La Niña in the Pacific to influence global weather patterns.

Year to date, the first seven months of 2018 were the fourth warmest such period of any year on record. Global temperature records date back to 1880.

July 2018 was the planet’s 4th warmest July on record. Credit: NOAA