New Data Confirms May Was Earth's Warmest on Record

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A nomadic Gujjar man holds an umbrella to shield himself from the sun as cattle bathe in the Tawi River in Jammu, India, Saturday, May 24, 2014.

Image: Channi Anand/Associated Press

By Andrew Freedman2014-06-23 15:17:54 UTC

Due to widespread record warmth both on land and especially at sea, May was the warmest such month on record since the instrumental record began in 1880, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA data adds to preliminary NASA data and information from the Japanese Meteorological Agency, all pointing to record warmth for the month.

This was the 39th straight May and 351st straight month with a global average surface temperature above the average for the 20th century. The last below average May occurred in 1976, and the last below average temperature for any month occurred in February 1985 (the month The Breakfast Club hit theaters).

See also: Why You Can't Blame El Niño for Extreme Weather (Yet)

That means that if you are under the age of 30, you have never experienced a month when global average surface temperatures were cooler than average.

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for May 2014 was 59.93 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 1.33 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, NOAA said. The margin of error associated with this temperature is plus or minute 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit.

Global average surface temperature departures from average during May, 2014.

For the ocean, the May global sea surface temperature was 1.06 degrees Fahrenheit the 20th century average, which was the highest for May on record, surpassing the previous record- holder of 1998 by 0.04 degrees Fahrenheit. According to NOAA, this also ties with June 1998, October 2010, and July 2009 as the highest departure from average for any month on record. During May 1998, El Niño conditions were present in the Pacific, which tends to boost global average temperatures.

There is not yet an El Niño, although NOAA is predicting one will develop by the fall of this year.

The majority of the world saw above average monthly temperatures during May, with record warmth across eastern Kazakhstan, parts of Indonesia, and central and northwestern Australia. Every major ocean basin on Earth had a section that was record warm, while the northeastern Atlantic, and the northwestern and southeastern Pacific were cooler than average. The average May temperature was record high for South Korea, at 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1981-2010 average.

During late May, record heat affected parts of eastern Asia, with Beijing, China seeing its hottest temperature on record for the month, at 106 degrees Fahrenheit on May 30.

Studies show that heat waves are already becoming more intense and long-lasting globally, as average temperatures warm in response to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the air.

This is a developing story.

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Topics: Climate, NOAA, U.S., US & World, World