After registering unusually high temperatures across the globe, May 2020, tied with 2016 as the world’s warmest May on record, the scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information reported Friday.
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The average global temperature in May was 0.95 of a degree Celcius (1.71 degrees F) above the 20th-century average, tying with May 2016 as the hottest May on record.
For the Northern Hemisphere, it was the hottest May recorded, with a temperature of 1.19 degrees C (2.14 degrees F) above average.
However, the heat wasn’t just limited to May. The three-month season (March through May) and the year to date (January through May) ranked second-warmest in the 141-year global record.
“We continue to warm in the long term, and in any given month, we’re likely to be knocking on the door, close to a record in the era that we’re in,” NOAA climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt said.
Parts of Africa, Asia, Western Europe, South, and Central America had record warmth.
Also, while the temperature on land set a heat record, ocean temperatures ranked second.
Meanwhile, this past spring was the second hottest on record, behind 2016. And this year so far is the second hottest five-month start of a year.