WASHINGTON (AP) -
Federal scientists say Earth sizzled to its 13th straight month of record
heat in May, but it wasn’t quite as much of an over-the-top scorcher as
previous months.
The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says May’s global average temperature
was 60.17 degrees Fahrenheit (15.65 degrees Celsius). That’s 1.57 degrees
(.87 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average, besting the old May
record by .04 degrees.
It’s the first time
since November that a month wasn’t a full degree Celsius (1.8 degrees
Fahrenheit) hotter than the 20th-century average.
So far, 2016 is
averaging 55.5 degrees (13.06 degrees Celsius), which beats the previous
January to May record set last year by 0.43 degrees.
NOAA climate
monitoring chief Deke Arndt blames the record heat on both man-made climate
change and El Nino.