Climate Change

Earth Had Its 400th Consecutive Month Of Above-Average Temperatures

The last time we had a cooler-than-average month was in 1984.

Earth Had Its 400th Consecutive Month Of Above-Average Temperatures
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SMS

December 1984 was the last time Earth had a cooler-than-average month. Last month — April — was the planet's 400th consecutive hotter-than-average month. That's almost 34 years of higher-than-average temperatures.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the information Thursday and told media outlets that climate change is to blame.

One climate scientist told CNN that some natural factors had an affect — like El Nino or La Nina — but that overall, humans caused the warming.

Climatologists use the averages from the 100 years between 1900 and 2000 to compare with current global temperatures. Eighteen of the warmest 19 years on record have occurred since 2000.

April was the third-hottest April since federal agencies began keeping records in 1880.