August 2012 was fourth hottest in over a century

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(LiveScience) Last month was the globe's fourth hottest August since record keeping began in 1880, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

The planet's average August temperature was 61.22 degrees F (16.22 degrees C) this year, which is 1.12 degrees F (0.62 degrees C) above the 20th-century average, according to the climate officials' report.

Last month's temperatures were higher than average in most places around the world, but notably scorching in the United States, eastern Canada, central and southern Europe, and east central Asia. The extent of Arctic sea ice also hit a record low in August, falling to 1.58 million square miles (4.10 million square kilometers), surpassing the previous low, set in September 2007.

August marked the 330th month in a row with a global temperature above the 20th-century average. February 1985 was the last month with a below-average global temperature.

The National Climatic Data Center noted that the El Ni?o warm ocean phase will likely develop during September, bumping tropical Pacific water temperatures higher than normal. For the United States, that could mean a warmer and drier than average winter for northern regions, while the Southwest and Southeast might see more rain than usual.

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[ge556]

Global average temperatures for every year since 2000 have been warmer than every year recorded before 2000, except one, the extreme El-Nino year of 1998.
We keep having new record warm years: 1998, 2005, and 2010.

See http://climate.nasa.gov/keyIndicators/index.cfm#globalTemp

[Hutterite]

We, the members of the utah association of armchair climatologists, know for sure that climate change is a hoax, all is well and we don't have to do a damned thing.

[tvwatcher5345]

i used to argue with a friend of mine who said there was no global warming until i told him that is not the arguement, i had to tell him everyone agrees the earth is warming, the argument is whether or not this a natual earth cycle (since the earth has warmed in the past) or is it due to human activity, he shut up,.... i think that human activity is causing global warming BUT, i am pro-global warming, i live in the north and like the warmer temps (last winter=awesome), also all this summer i would view the US drought monitor website and watch as the red states got redder while listening to instumental favorite dueling banjos, and i will do the same next summer

[ge556]

You like the droughts and increased food prices? Have you seen the price of apples and corn?

[eroteme2]

I wonder how the other three came about without global warming.

[marcie10000]

Because, ero, they were outliers. If you have any background in science, you will understand that global climate change is about ACCELERATION of the extremes.

[josephp5]

Let's make sure one thing is clear:

Global warming is happening, and it is because of human activity. This is settled science.

Settled science means that an overwhelming majority of scientists (like 97%) that have studied climatology and published peer reviewed papers agree with the theory that global warming is happening and due to humans.

Settled science doesn't mean that the theory isn't subject to review or change. Science is always skeptical. But it does mean that there is no serious challenge to the theory.

There is a lot of money being spent to make people believe that the global warming theory is not settled; that there are in fact many scientists that dispute the theory. There are lists put out by anti-warming propaganda groups like Heartland Foundation that purport to list hundreds of scientists that dispute the theory. But this is not true. These lists contain scientists that actually do not dispute the theory and are furious to be included on the list. Other scientists that are cited are dead and their work is being misconstrued. And many of the scientists that the lists are actually not climate scientists (in some cases, not even scientists at all).

And even if there are a few actual scientists that do dispute human caused global warming, they are few in relation to the 97% that do support the theory. This is what makes it settled science.

[ge556]

The same group, Heartland, and some of the same people, participated in the disinformation campaign to create doubt about the dangers of cigarettes. Now the create doubt about climate change. They used to say it wasn't happening. Now they mostly admit that it's happening, but they say it's not our fault, or it's good for us. Both are false.

Heartland also said that if you believe in global warming, you're like the Unibomber.

[Htos1]

Let's make one thing clear,cow farts and yuppies driving suv's AIN'T causing climate change.The science is settled.I'm NOT paying a tax(and neither are you-I'll fight,and die,for that,will you)Background radiation levels are going off scale solar system wide as we transit the galactic center.This is recorded throughout the solar system,not to mention the magnetic variations are tweaking the sun's output.NEXT!