400 months in a row have been the hottest registered on our planet. Is global warming to blame? Image: Compfight

Planet Earth has just had its 400th consecutive hotter than average month due to global warming. December 1984, with President Ronald Reagan in office, was Earth’s last cooler than average month and now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that April 2018 marked the 400th consecutive month with above-average temperatures on this planet.

The NOAA also pointed out that this past April was the third warmest month on record. For Europe, this April has been its warmest ever recorded, while in Australia was the second warmest. However, North America saw a 2.2-degree average temperature mark. Being the 13th coldest April ever recorded, while in the South Pole, Argentina also registered the warmest April in the country.

How are global temperatures measured?

Despite climate change being the main reason for these temperature peaks, it is fair to note that carbon dioxide reached a milestone mark, since gas reached “its highest level in recorded history at 410 parts per million,” according to NOAA climate scientist Deke Arndt. These registered records prove once again how the global warming has been making its presence more and more noticeable as time goes by.

Those who base their research on climate still use the 20th-century average as a benchmark for the measurement of Earth’s temperature. This may be changed as technology advances, thus allowing more advanced science to review the past months’ temperatures and also allowing consistent goal posts when reviewing the data collected.

Arndt noted that the cause for this streak is unquestionably the climate change caused by humanity’s unconscious and continuous burning of fossil fuels. He also pointed out that “speeding by a 400 sign only underscores that,” yet it doesn’t prove anything new to the known consequences of drastic climate changes.

What do these records mean?

These records signal that this year, humanity is responsible for the highest level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s history, by reaching 410 parts per million. Meaning that in the last 800,000 years this is the highest dirt level to be spread by ourselves over our own planet.

Arndt stated “The thing that really matters is that, by whatever metric, we’ve spent every month for several decades on the warm side of any reasonable baseline. We live in and share a world that is unequivocally, appreciably and consequentially warmer than just a few decades ago, and our world continues to warm.”

Source: USA Today

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