No, it wasn’t your imagination. 2019 was a historically warm year. During the summer, dozens of cities in the US sweltered under record-high temperatures and waited out historically long hot streaks.
Warmer-than-usual weather dominated forecasts around the globe. June, July and September ended up breaking or tying high temperature records, and the others were in the top five warmest for that month. Global records began in 1880.
Here’s how each month stacked up to recorded history.
January: 3rd warmest (tied)
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.58˚F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: Tied with 2007 as third-highest temperature since 1880. Also, the 10 warmest Januaries have all occurred in the last 17 years.
February: 5th warmest
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.42˚F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: A heat wave over western and central Europe set several new seasonal high temperature records. North America, on the other hand, had a February temperature that was below average.
March: 2nd warmest
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.91˚F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: March 2019’s average was second only to the average in March 2016, which was a whopping 2.23˚F over the 20th century average.
April: 2nd warmest
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.67°F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: April 2019 surpassed April 2018 as the second-warmest April on record. It’s second to 2016, when temperatures were 1.94°F above average. April 2019 was also the 43rd consecutive April with a temperature average above the 20th century average.
May: 4th warmest
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.53°F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: The three highest averages in recorded history for the month of May were 2017 (1.57°F higher), 2015 (1.60°F higher), and the warmest, 2016 (1.67°F higher).
June: Warmest
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.71°F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: 2019 marked the hottest June on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2016. Nine of the 10 warmest June have occurred in in the last nine years.
July: Warmest
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.71°F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: 2019 marks the hottest July on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2016. Nine of the 10 warmest Julys have occurred since 2005, and the five warmest Julys all occurred between the five years of 2015 to 2019.
August: 2nd-warmest (tied)
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.66°F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: 2019 is tied with 2017 and 2015 as the second-warmest August on record. The warmest August occurred in 2016. All five of the warmest Augusts on record have occurred since 2014.
September: Warmest (tied)
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.71°F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: 2019’s September temperatures are tied with 2015’s for the warmest on record. 2016 marks the other highest September on record.
October: 2nd warmest
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.76°F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: 2019’s October average is second to the warmest October ever recorded in 2015. The five warmest Octobers have all occurred since 2015. October 2019 was also the 43rd consecutive October with a temperature average above the 20th century average.
November: 2nd warmest
Global land and ocean surface temperature: 1.66°F above the 20th century average
Records and notes: 2019’s November temperatures were second to the warmest November ever recorded in 2015. The five warmest Novembers have all occurred since 2013.