According to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, July was the hottest month in recorded history. This beats the previous record, set only last year in July of 2014.The average temperature across the entire global was 1.46°F warmer than the 20th century average. Most troubling, the the globally-average sea surface temperature was 1.35°F (0.75°C) above the 20th century average, and the highest temperature for any month in the historical records, which range from 1880 to 2015.Media Platforms Design TeamArctic ice is also continuing to disappear, with the average amount of the Arctic ocean with at least some surface ice now about 350,000 square miles less than the 1981 to 2010 average. That’s about 100,000 more square miles than all of Texas. Media Platforms Design TeamAntarctic surface ice is similarly disapearring, with about 240,000 square miles less than the 1981 to 2010 average—or about 100,000 more square miles than California.Media Platforms Design TeamThis July was the 39th consecutive July with a global temperature that was above average. It was also the 365th consecutive month that the global temperature has been above average. In other words, we’re now in our third decade of the planet slowly warming up, without a single overall dip in global temperatures.Jake SwearingenDeputy EditorJake Swearingen is deputy editor at PopularMechanics.com. Previously he worked at The Altantic and was digital director at Modern Farmer. He lives in Queens and really wants to talk to you about what’s going wrong in his dwarf fortress.
