Couldn’t seem to stop sweating in the months of July and August? There’s good reason for it. Since the invention of instrumental temperature recordings 136 years ago, July and August of this year in 2016 have surpassed any other recording ever in history according to NASA. “Visualizing the Warmest August in 136 Years Data via @NASAGISS #NASA #climate” tweeted by verified NASA twitter account on September 12, 2016.
Visualizing the Warmest August in 136 Years https://t.co/PSjA2NfYem Data via @NASAGISS #NASA #climate pic.twitter.com/DIk8z7Zodj
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) September 12, 2016
NASA Says July and August Are Hottest Months Ever Recorded
According to NASA heat this past year, specifically in the months of July and August have been incredibly high due to the El Nino weather pattern and the undeniable effects of emissions from greenhouse gases. “Monthly rankings, which vary by only a few hundredths of a degree, are inherently fragile,” GISS Director Gavin Schmidt said in a statement. “We stress that the long-term trends are the most important for understanding the ongoing changes that are affecting our planet.” Though it is noteworthy that the recordings in July and August have hit all time highs, it is only a small piece of the pie according to GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. Even though these last couple of months have been breaking history records, the more important thing to pay attention to is the fact that the year of 2016, in itself, is heading towards breaking the full year heat record high.
Since 1880, NASA started keeping track of annual heat records. Considering 2016 has been abnormally high temperature wise, it is on par for the course of becoming the third year in a row that the heat index has broken the preceding year. Incredible findings from NASA especially with the thoughts of some revolving around Global Warming, while others are firmly planted in the view that there is an eventuality of a Great Freeze.
But no matter what personal views are thrown around, the science shows that compared to temperatures in 1880, recorded by NASA, the average temperature was 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit higher in 2016 compared to the subsequent year! Even more than that, the past 11 months have all set new record temperature highs. The month of August has tied July in temperature, and the forecast for September is looking to be over warm as well. Thanks to the monthly and annual recordings from NASA, the general public can stay informed on these topics. And comparing the data from years past might allude to what we can expect in the future. Hopefully the temperature will begin to cool off as we are coming into the fall and winter months here in the United States.
