By a narrow margin, July 2019 was the warmest month ever recorded on Earth.
The month was slightly warmer than the previous record month of July 2016.
The new figures came today from the Copernicus climate change service, which is the EU and ESA's major program for space monitoring of the Earth.
The difference compared to the previous record month, July 2016, was very small. The global average temperature for July was 0.04 degrees warmer, writes the Washington Post, citing Copernicus data.
Something to keep in mind is that July this year was not affected by a strong El Niño, the weather phenomenon that usually returns every two to seven years and which originates in the Pacific Ocean. In 2016, when the old record was broken, El Niño was unusually strong and according to Nasa, the phenomenon may have been responsible for just over 0.2 degrees of the increase that month.
The EU agency Copernicus also writes that every month this year has been one of the four warmest so far for the corresponding month. So it's not just July that has been exceptional.
Source.sverigesradio.se
