--- title: Climate Change: July Was the Warmest Month Ever Recorded description: Last month was the warmest month ever recorded, the latest in a slew of new temperature records set in the past several years canonical: https://time.com/4453038/heat-wave-july-temperature/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-15T20:33:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:59:57.704Z article:section: Science og:title: July Was the Single Warmest Month Ever Recorded og:description: And 2016 will almost definitely be the hottest year yet og:url: https://time.com/4453038/heat-wave-july-temperature/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88333490c760db05/6988a274bc6cfc529e3de41e/july-warmest-month.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Florida Daily Life og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: July Was the Single Warmest Month Ever Recorded twitter:description: And 2016 will almost definitely be the hottest year yet twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88333490c760db05/6988a274bc6cfc529e3de41e/july-warmest-month.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # July Was the Single Warmest Month Ever Recorded  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 15, 2016 8:33 PM UTC  With the temperature in the mid 90's, Carliya Dove, 12, soaks up the full effects of the play fountain in Julius Guinyard Park to beat the afternoon heat in Jacksonville, Fla., on July 20, 2016. With the temperature in the mid 90's, Carliya Dove, 12, soaks up the full effects of the play fountain in Julius Guinyard Park to beat the afternoon heat in Jacksonville, Fla., on July 20, 2016.Bob Mack—The Florida Times-Union/AP  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 15, 2016 8:33 PM UTC July 2016 was the warmest month ever recorded, the latest in a slew of new temperature records set in the past several years, according to two new reports. Scientists have recorded month after month of record-breaking temperatures this year, but July shattered all those records to become the hottest of any month in any year since record keeping began. The data was confirmed separately by [NASA](http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/) and the [Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA)](http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/tcc/tcc/products/gwp/temp/jul%5Fwld.html), and provides near certainty that 2016 will be the hottest year in recorded history. July was 0.78°C (1.4°F) warmer than the 20th century average, according to the JMA. Locations across the globe experienced extreme heat in July, including a [so-called heat dome](http://time.com/4411768/heat-dome-heat-wave-summer-weather/) that hit across the U.S. and [record temperatures](http://time.com/4418816/heat-wave-middle-east-temperature-record/) of 54°C (129.2°F) in Kuwait. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the primary body in the U.S. that tracks weather and climate data, is expected to release results Thursday. Climate scientists attribute the spike in temperatures to man-made global warming along with a number of shorter-term climate patterns. In particular, [El Niño](http://time.com/3996227/el-nino-forecast/) — a phenomenon characterized by unusually high temperatures along the equatorial Pacific — drove up temperatures late last year and early this year. The [start of La Niña](http://time.com/4346382/el-nino-la-nina-weather-drought/) could temper warming, if only in the short term. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4453038/heat-wave-july-temperature/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4453038/heat-wave-july-temperature/"},"headline":"July Was the Single Warmest Month Ever Recorded","datePublished":"2016-08-15T20:33:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:59:57.704Z","description":"And 2016 will almost definitely be the hottest year yet","url":"https://time.com/4453038/heat-wave-july-temperature/","keywords":["weather","climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88333490c760db05/6988a274bc6cfc529e3de41e/july-warmest-month.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88333490c760db05/6988a274bc6cfc529e3de41e/july-warmest-month.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Florida Daily Life","caption":"With the temperature in the mid 90's, Carliya Dove, 12, soaks up the full effects of the play fountain in Julius Guinyard Park in Jacksonville, Fla., to beat the afternoon heat on Wednesday July 20, 2016. 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