Breaking yet another record, the global average temperature for April of 2016 marked the 12th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reporting levels a full 1.10ºC above normal. This makes for the longest streak of record-breaking monthly temperatures — a full year’s worth — since record-keeping began in the 19th century.

That 1.10ºC above average (1.12ºC according to NASA) also places last month as the hottest April on record, and also stands to mark 2016 as the hottest year on record, with the January through April period seeing 1.14ºC above average around the globe.
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Continuing the trend of upward-spiraling temperatures, February of 2016 broke even more records, with data from both NOAA and NASA agreeing on the trend. Last month was the hottest February on record, 1.21°C (2.18°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.9°F); it also set a new all-time temperature record, beating the previous record-holder, December 2015, by 0.09°C (0.16°F). February also marked the sixth consecutive month where a monthly temperature record had been broken.
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In an unprecedented event, two hurricanes have formed at the same time in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in the month of January, with the Pacific storm, breaking a record as such, and also exhibiting an unusual proximity to the equator. This is also the first time on record that off-season hurricanes have formed in both the Atlantic and Pacific in the same year; to have both form in the same month adds to the extreme unusuality of the event.
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