1st LD: 2014 hottest year on record: U.S. gov't agencies

The year 2014 was the Earth's hottest since record keeping began in 1880, according to two separate analyses released Friday by the U.S. space agency NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

"During 2014, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit (0.69 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average," a NOAA report said. "This was the highest among all 135 years in the 1880-2014 record, surpassing the previous records of 2005 and 2010 by 0.07 degrees Fahrenheit ( 0.04 degrees Celsius)."

In an independent analysis, NASA scientists also found 2014 to be the warmest on record.

The 10 warmest years in the 135-year record, bar 1998, have all occurred since 2000, NASA and NOAA said. Endite