Last Month Was the Hottest January on Record

Last month was the hottest January ever recorded, the ninth straight month to break such a record, government scientists said Wednesday.

The average temperature around the globe was 1.87°F (1.04°C) higher than the 20th century average of 53.6°F (12.0°C) in January, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report. That’s 0.29°F (0.16°C) warmer than the previous January record set in 2007.

The record heat comes as little surprise to climatologists. The ongoing El Niño climate pattern, potentially the strongest on record, and continuing climate change both led scientists to predict last fall that 2016 would be the warmest year on record. El Niño is expected to weaken during spring or summer, according to NOAA.

Subscribe to TIME

Get our Space Newsletter. Sign up to receive the week's news in space.

Please enter a valid email address.

* The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again.

Sign Up Now

An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later.

Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME.

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you!

For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com.