May Was the Hottest in Recorded History

The globe just experienced the hottest May in recorded history, according to reports from multiple organizations. Ocean and land temperatures rose 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.33 degrees Fahrenheit) over the 20th Century average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). That makes May 2014 the warmest May since the agency started tracking those figures in 1880. Both NASA and Japan Meteorological Agency came to the same conclusion — this was the warmest May ever recorded. Overall, this was the second warmest spring ever, trailing only the March-May period in 2010, according to the NOAA.

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- Keith Wagstaff