--- title: Temperature Rise Climate Change: September Hottest on Record description: Last month was the hottest September on record, increasing chances that 2015 will be the hottest year in centuries canonical: https://time.com/4081985/september-record-heat/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-21T19:40:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T11:58:36.827Z article:section: Science og:title: Last Month Was the Hottest September on Record og:description: That marks the fifth month in row of record temperatures og:url: https://time.com/4081985/september-record-heat/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt896151eb80d536a5/6988693c196cf483fd0389d0/gettyimages-555281625.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 555281625 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Last Month Was the Hottest September on Record twitter:description: That marks the fifth month in row of record temperatures twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt896151eb80d536a5/6988693c196cf483fd0389d0/gettyimages-555281625.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Last Month Was the Hottest September on Record  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 21, 2015 7:40 PM UTC  New York 42nd street in the morning with sun glare New York 42nd street in the morning with sun glareGetty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 21, 2015 7:40 PM UTC Another month, another temperature record falls. Last month was the hottest September on record, increasing chances that 2015 will be the hottest year in centuries, according to a new federal [report](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201509). The average temperature across the globe was 60.62ºF (15.9ºC). That’s a 1.62ºF (0.9°C) higher than the average September in the 20th century. The trend held true on both land and ocean surfaces. The September record marks the fifth month in row of record temperatures, making it even more likely that 2015 will be the hottest year on record. A [report](http://time.com/4033315/global-warming-speed-up/) released last month from the British Met Office suggested that record for 2015 was a foregone conclusion and 2016 would likely be even hotter. A number of factors contributed to the elevated temperatures, including [end to a so-called global warming hiatus](http://time.com/4038110/global-warmings-comeback/)—which scientists say was caused by a variety of factors, including stronger trade winds and volcanic eruptions that shielded the Earth from the sun—that slowed the rate of climate change for the first decade of the 21st century. El Niño, a climate phenomenon triggered by unusually warm temperatures along the equatorial Pacific, has also struck this year and is expected to continue into the spring of 2016\. 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