Sigh. Another month. Another record temperature for the planet. We’ve been setting records for about a year now (depending on who is reporting the data.)
“August came in at 1.76˚F (0.98˚C) above the average from 1951-1980” – Climate Central
Because natural data are naturally noisy, there should be some months when the recent overshoot is undershot, but so far it hasn’t happened. The worrisome possibility is that the trend is bad enough. The more worrisome possibility is that this isn’t an isolated though prolonged spike but is an acceleration in the trend. This year is already so hot that there is a >99% chance that 2016 will set a record as well.
(Click on the map for the link.)

“August Ties July As Hottest Month Ever On Record” – Climate Central
Pingback: Data That Matters September 2016 | Pretending Not To Panic