14 DAY TRIAL // This past Monday, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States announced that this year's May was the hottest such month to have ever been documented since record keeping began in 1880.
Specifically, the Administration explains that, according to data at hand, the global average temperature for both land and ocean surfaces for this year's May was one of 15.54 degrees Celsius (59.93 degrees Fahrenheit).
When compared to the global average temperature for the entire 20th century, these 15.54 degrees Celsius represent an increase of 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.33 degrees Fahrenheit), the Administration explains.
As detailed in a press release on the matter at hand, a considerable increase in average temperatures was documented in the case of land surface. Thus, the global land surface temperature in May 2014 was 1.13°C (2.03°F) above the 20th century average.
By comparison, the global sea surface temperature in May 2014 was documented to have been 0.59 degrees Celsius (1.06 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average documented all throughout the 20th century.
“The global land surface temperature was 1.13°C (2.03°F) above the 20th century average of 11.1°C (52.0°F), the fourth highest for May on record,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration writes.
“For the ocean, the May global sea surface temperature was 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20th century average of 16.3°C (61.3°F), making it the record highest for May and tying with June 1998, October 2003, and July 2009 as the highest departure from average for any month on record,” it adds.
This year's March-May period was surprisingly warm as well. Specifically, researchers say that land surface and ocean surface temperatures were 1.26 degrees Celsius (2.27 degrees Fahrenheit) and 0.54 degrees Celsius (0.97 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average, respectively.
Simply put, this year's March-May period was the third warmest to have until now been documented. The January-May period, on the other hand, is said to have been the fifth warmest to have been reported since record keeping began in 1880.
By the looks of it, considerable increases in local temperatures in May 2014 were reported in parts of Indonesia, Spain, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Australia. In the United States, however, temperatures documented in May exceeded the 20th century average ever so slightly.
As reported on several occasions, researchers say that this gradual increase in global average temperatures is due to man-made climate change. They warn that, unless steps are taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions, our planet will only get hotter in the years to come.