May’s temperatures smoldered past global records to become the hottest documented, according to statistics released Tuesday by NASA.
It capped off what has been the warmest spring on record for the northern hemisphere, along with the first four months of 2016 reaching the highest temperatures on Earth in 136 years. The month’s unusually warm weather came with heavy rains throughout Europe and the southern United States, reported AFP.
The Arctic experienced some of the greatest impact, according to NASA. The rising temperatures caused the region’s sea ice and Greenland’s ice sheet to begin melting earlier than usual.
“The state of the climate so far this year gives us much cause for alarm,” said David Carlson, Director of Geneva’s World Climate Research Program, in a statement.
Alaska experienced average temperatures 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than usual. The state is on track to continue having above average temperatures for the rest of 2016, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NASA researchers considered how last year’s El Niño contributed to the rising temperatures, but say greenhouse gases are the leading cause.
“The super El Niño is only partly to blame,” Carlson said. “Abnormal is the new normal.”
NOAA plans to release further research on May’s exceptionally warm weather in the next few days.