July was Earth's hottest month in recorded history, according to NASA.
July 2016 was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit (0.84 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1950-1980 global average, topping previous highs in July 2011 and July 2015 by 0.18 degrees, The Associated Press reported.
Adding to the significance of the record-breaking temperatures is that they continued to warm even as the season's El Niño event began to diminish, the Washington Post reported, citing Geogia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb.
July marked the 10th consecutive record-hot month, according to NASA. Data from the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration indicates the past 14 months have set heat records. NOAA's July report is set to be released this week.
"The scary thing is that we are moving into an era where it will be a surprise when each new month or year isn't one of the hottest on record," said Chris Field, a climate scientist t the Carnegie Institution and Stanford University, per the Post.
NASA's data combine sea surface temperature and air temperature on land, The Guardian noted.
David Karoly, a climate scientist from the University of Melbourne, said 2016 is "virtually certain" to be the hottest year on record,per The Guardian.
That assertion matched an assertion on Twitter by climatologist Gavin Schmidt, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Karoly said monthly temperature records are likely to stop in the latter part of the year as the El Niño pattern dissipates.
Many Twitter users expressed concerns about the rising temperatures.
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