Our global temperature continued its upward trend last month with October 2019 marking the second warmest October ever recorded on this planet. Only October 2015 was warmer.

According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Earth’s combined average temperature for the month – over both land and sea surfaces – was 58.86°F. That is 1.76°F above the 20th-century average. October also marked the 418th 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, the ten warmest Octobers have all occurred since 2003, with the last five Octobers being the five warmest on record.

While heat dominated most of the planet this October, some places were particularly warm, including Alaska, northern Canada, eastern Europe, northern Russia, the Middle East, and western Australia. These soaring temperatures are largely attributed to the long-term trend of human-caused climate change.

For many people in the northern and central parts of the contiguous US, however, this October was unusually cold. To put this disparity into context, consider that the United States constitutes less than 2% of the total surface of the Earth. This detail also highlights the fact that climate change is a complex global phenomenon that involves much more than the short-term weather conditions that are happening in any one part of the world.

Year to date, the first ten months of 2019 were 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.

Credit: NOAA