Climate agency reports May was hottest on record worldwide

May 2020 was the hottest May on record globally, according to data from the European Commission’s climate monitoring organization. 

The Copernicus Climate Change Service found that May of this year was 0.05 degrees celsius warmer than the previous warmest May, which was in 2016. This May was also 0.63 degrees celsius warmer than the average May between 1981 and 2010. 

Last month, the most above-average temperatures were found over parts of Siberia, where they were as much as 10 degrees celsius above average. Copernicus noted that temperatures over western Alaska were also “much above average.”

The 12-month period between June 2019 and May 2020 was about 0.7 degrees celsius warmer than average, about equal to the warmest 12-month period recorded, which was between October 2015 and September 2016. 

However, last month, the Eastern U.S. was recorded as having a below-average temperatures. 

The data used dates back to 1979. 

The United States’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration has previously stated that 2020 is on track to be the warmest year on record. The warmest year on record currently is 2016.