Concerns about human-caused global climate change are nothing new, but there's mounting evidence that global temperatures have been rising for unprecedented stretches of time. According to global temperature information compiled by Dr. Kevin Cowtan of the University of York in the United Kingdom, and Robert Way, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa, May 2016 marked the ninth month in a row that the record for hottest 12-month period was broken.
The data was compiled looking both at calendar years (January through December) as well as 12-month periods (for example: looking at May 2015 through April 2016), and revealed that we've been breaking the record for hottest year every month since September 2015. This means October 2014 to September 2015 was the hottest 12-month period until November 2014 to October 2015 came along the next month and so on and so forth.
The Guardian reports that the years 2014 and 2015 both also set records for hottest calendar years since collection of global surface temperatures started more than 150 years ago. Given the recent monthly trends, it's most likely that 2016 will break the existing record, which will be the first time that the record for hottest year will have been broken for three calendar years in a row.
In December of last year, representatives from 195 countries signed a climate deal at the United Nations Climate Change Conference as a part of global efforts to reduce environmental damage brought about by human-caused climate change, specifically relating to carbon emissions. This was the first ever legally binding global climate deal ever made.
Dr. Kevin Cowtan did not immediately reply to Complex's request for comment.
