Washington: July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded globally, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The previous hottest month on record was July 2016.
"Much of the planet sweltered in unprecedented heat in July, as temperatures soared to new heights in the hottest month ever recorded," NOAA said in a statement.
"The record warmth also shrank Arctic & Antarctic sea ice to historic lows," it said.
The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees, making it the hottest July in the 140-year record. Nine of the 10 hottest Julys have occurred since 2005 -- with the last five years ranking as the five hottest.
Last month was also the 43rd consecutive July and 415th consecutive month with above-average global temperatures. The period from January through July produced a global temperature that was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 56.9 degrees, tying with 2017 as the second-hottest year to date on record.
It was the hottest year to date for parts of North and South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the southern half of Africa, portions of the western Pacific Ocean, western Indian Ocean and the Atlantic.
