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SCIENCEThursday 19 November 2015

Absurdly hot October as Earth sets 8th heat record this year

SETH BORENSTEIN number of broken records This graphic provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows land
AP Science Writer in any year. Records go and ocean temperatures for October 2015.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Even in a record-breaking Associated Press
hot year for Earth, Octo-
ber stood out as absurdly
warm.
The U.S. National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration said that last month
globally was 58.86 degrees
(14.98 degrees Celsius).
That’s the hottest October
on record by a third of a
degree over the old mark,
“an incredible amount”
for weather records, said
NOAA climate scientist Jes-
sica Blunden.
October’s temperature
was the most above-nor-
mal month in history. It
was 1.76 degrees Fahren-
heit (0.98 degrees Celsius)
above the 20th-century
average.
“A complete blowout,”
said Jeffrey Sachs, direc-
tor of Columbia University’s
Earth Institute. “This year is
going to be an all-time re-
cord-breaker.”
This was the eighth month
this year when a heat re-
cord was set, with only Jan-
uary and April not setting
records. That’s a record

back to 1880. NASA, the Japanese Mete- northern South America,

Man finds sea turtle in Blunden and other scien- orological Agency, Univer- according to NOAA.
northern California river
tists blame a potent and sity of California at Berkeley It’s also the hottest Janu-
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Turtle Island Restoration strengthening El Nino on and University of Alabama ary through October for
rare sea turtle usually seen Network confirmed that top of accelerating man- at Huntsville, which mea- Earth on record, along with
near Mexico seems to be it was an Eastern Pacific made global warming. sures the upper air using the hottest consecutive 12
living in a northern Califor- green sea turtle. The spe-
nia river. cies is endangered and “This is just a new normal,” satellites, Blunden said. months on record.
The San Francisco Chroni- most commonly found
cle reports that fisherman in waters off central and Blunden said. “I don’t know Record heat was found in Given that the El Nino con-
Dan Maloon thought he southern Mexico. what really else to call it.” Australia, southern Asia, tinues to strengthen and
saw a plastic bag floating The turtle might have been Nearly every team that parts of western North how much warmer 2015
in the San Joaquin River lured north by warm El Nino
recently, but looked closer waters, but the tempera- measures temperatures America, much of central is than previous years,
and realized it was a turtle. ture of water in northern
He shot video of the crea- California could cause hy- found that October 2015 and southern Africa, most Blunden said “it is virtu-
ture and shared it with ex- pothermia. was a record, including of Central America and ally just impossible that we
perts. The turtle was last seen in will not break the record”
Marine wildlife experts at Lathrop.q for the hottest year. That

record was set in 2014.

Since the year 2000, global
monthly heat records have
been broken 32 times, yet

the last time a monthly

cold record was set was in
1916.q