Hottest Fall Season on Record

Federal meteorologists say last month was only the globe’s seventh warmest November on record. That’s the first time since July that a month hasn’t broken the record for heat.

Still, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt says after 11 months, 2014 is likely to break the annual heat record set in 2010. It was the hottest fall, September to November, on record.

If December is at least 0.76 degrees warmer than the 20th century average, then 2014 will set the global record. Since 2000, December has averaged 0.95 degrees warmer than that standard.

Arndt said the world’s oceans set a new monthly heat record in November, the seventh time in a row, making it more likely that 2014 will set the heat record.