Global temperatures record high for September, first nine months: NOAA

Both the month of September and the first nine months of 2015 were the hottest since record keeping began in 1880, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Wednesday.

The average September temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.90 degree Celsius above the 20th century average of 15 degrees Celsius, the NOAA said in a monthly report.

"This was the highest September temperature on record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.19 degrees Celsius," it said, adding that the September temperature is currently increasing at an average rate of 0.06 degree Celsius per decade.

According to the NOAA, record warmth was observed across northeastern Africa stretching into the Middle East, part of southeastern Asia, most of the northern half of South America, and parts of central and eastern North America for the month.

Meanwhile, the year-to-date temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.85 degree Celsius above the 20th century average. This was the highest for January-September season in the 1880-2015 period, surpassing the previous record set in 2014 by 0.12 degree Celsius.

Seven months this year, including the past five, have been record warm for their respective months. Only January was the second warmest January on record and April third warmest.

It is "extremely likely" that 2015 will eclipse 2014 as the warmest year on record, NOAA said.

"The historical data suggest it would take a remarkable and abrupt reversal in [temperatures] over the remainder of the year to upend 2015's drive toward record-breaking status," NOAA scientists wrote in a blog post in September. "In other words, it appears extremely unlikely that 2015 will lose its commanding lead." Endit