October is eighth month to break temperature record in 2015

Last month was the hottest October since record-keeping began 136 years ago, federal scientists announced Wednesday, setting up 2015 to be the warmest year on record. 

The average global temperature in October was 58.86 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.76 degrees higher than the 136-year average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

{mosads}October was the sixth-straight month to break its historic temperature mark in 2015, and the first 10 months of 2015 were the warmest such period on record, according to the NOAA. Eight months have broken their temperature record so far this year; among the other two, January was the second-warmest on recrod and April the third-warmest.

For the year, the global temperature is 1.55 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, making it likely that 2015 will go down as the hottest year since scientists began collecting the records in 1880. 

The NOAA’s monthly temperature report, issued Wednesday, was filled with a litany of observed broken records. 

The average global sea surface temperature for 2015 and the land surface temperature for October both topped the charts, and NOAA said it observed record warmth in “South America, Central America, western North America, Africa, most of Eurasia and large parts of Australia” last month.

The average land surface temperature in October was 2.39 degrees above the 20th century average, and, driven by a strong El Nino in the Pacific Ocean, sea surface temperatures were 1.53 degrees higher than average. 

Taken together, the departure from average in October was the largest it’s been for any month in the 1,630 months NOAA has tracked.