July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded, says U.S. government


July 2019 is officially the hottest month on record. The average global temperature soared to 1.71 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.
The report comes after speculation and earlier data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service that made the same conclusion.
July marked the 415th consecutive month with above-average temperatures world-wide, according to data from NOAA, a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce that studies climate and weather. The previous hottest month recorded was July 2016; records date back 140 years to 1880.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Last month also saw record-low Arctic sea ice at 19.8 percent below the historic average for the same time of year.
Earlier this month, United Nations secretary-general António Guterres said "beautiful speeches" are not enough to combat climate change — action is needed. The UN released a report on climate change last week and is holding a Climate Action Summit in September "to boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Taylor Watson is audience engagement editor for TheWeek.com and a former editorial assistant. She graduated from Syracuse University, with a major in magazine journalism and minors in food studies and nutrition. Taylor has previously written for Runner's World, Vice, and more.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders