Last month was the hottest May in the modern temperature record. This marks the eighth month in a row where temperatures have set a new monthly record, and where the increase over the baseline average was significant:
NOAA's official global state of the climate report won’t be out until Friday, but this news officially sucks. According to new data released by NASA on Monday, May was the hottest May since record-keeping started in 1880, with average temperatures 1.674 degrees Fahrenheit above what is considered normal. NASA considers "normal" to be the average temperatures recorded around the world between 1950 and 1981.
Temperatures in the Arctic continued to lead the way, coming in way above average. Those regional spikes helped make this spring the warmest on record and contributed to an uptick in everything from Arctic ice loss to worldwide coral bleaching.
It would take a fairly abrupt reversal in average global temperature at this point for 2016 to not rank in the top three warmest years—and it could well top the list if these trends continue. Those three hottest years currently are 2015 at 1.62°F above average, 2014 at 1.33°F above average, and 2010 at 1.26°F above average.