Broken record: March is 10th straight month to be hottest on record, scientists say

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Source: Associated Press

Broken record: March is 10th straight month to be hottest on record, scientists say

BY SUMAN NAISHADHAM
Updated 1:34 AM EDT, April 9, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the 10th consecutive month, Earth in March set a new monthly record for global heat — with both air temperatures and the world’s oceans hitting an all-time high for the month, the European Union climate agency Copernicus said.

March 2024 averaged 14.14 degrees Celsius (57.9 degrees Fahrenheit), exceeding the previous record from 2016 by a tenth of a degree, according to Copernicus data. And it was 1.68 degrees C (3 degrees F) warmer than in the late 1800s, the base used for temperatures before the burning of fossil fuels began growing rapidly.

Since last June, the globe has broken heat records each month, with marine heat waves across large areas of the globe’s oceans contributing.

Scientists say the record-breaking heat during this time wasn’t entirely surprising due to a strong El Nino, a climatic condition that warms the central Pacific and changes global weather patterns.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/climate-heat-record-hot-march-copernicus-33621288477a660d176ac3ff4a06e5c1