Blazing Hot First Half of 2016 Sends Climate Records Tumbling

Halfway through, 2016 has been an exceptional year for climate records, scientists say.

Scientists at NASA released their first-ever mid-year analysis of climate trends on Tuesday, which revealed that every month between January and June had the warmest average temperature on record for that month.

NASA researchers did this new analysis "mainly because the average temperatures for the first half of this year are so in excess of any first part of the year that we've seen," said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "It's somewhat worthy of note."

When comparing this year's temperature trends with past years, Schmidt said 2015 was also a very warm year, "but 2016 really has blown that out of the water."

In the U.S., Alaska has been the runaway leader in warming. The first half of the year was the warmest six-month span ever for the state since records began in 1925. And the high temperatures appear to be continuing into July. The town of Deadhorse recently experienced its hottest day, clocking in 85 degrees Fahrenheit on July 7.

Read the Inside Climate News story - “Blazing Hot First Half of 2016 Sends Climate RecordsTumbling.”