Environment

World's Oceans Set All-Time Heat Record

For the third month this year, the world's oceans set a record for the warmest they have ever been since at least 1880, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported on Monday.

September had the highest global average sea surface temperatures of any month on record since instrument record-keeping began, with a global average temperature of 61.1 degrees Fahrenheit. This was warm enough to set another milestone that had already been set two previous times this year; the average global sea surface temperature was so warm in September that it broke the all-time record for the highest departure from average for any month since 1880, at 1.19 degrees Fahrenheit above average.

This broke the previous record of 1.17 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average set just one month ago, in August, and the previous record before that: 1.15 degrees Fahrenheit above average, set in June.