March Was the 10th Hottest Consecutive Month on Record

March was the 10th hottest consecutive month on record for each respective month of the year, according to new data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The average global surface air temperature was 14.14°C last month (57.9°F), which is 1.68°C (3°F) warmer than in the late 1800s, when many countries started burning fossil fuels en masse. March also saw the highest monthly value on record for sea surface temperatures outside of the polar latitudes, with an average of 21.07°C (69.93°F), which is marginally above the 21.06°C recorded for February.

"The global average temperature is the highest on record, with the past 12 months being 1.58°C above pre-industrial levels", Samantha Burgess Deputy Director of Copernicus Climate Service said.  "Stopping further warming requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions."

According to a report by AP, these high temperatures are also due to the El Niño phenomenon, when the surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become warmer than usual.