400 Warmer Months Than Average Met in April

April marked the 400th consecutive month with global temperatures exceeding the 20th century average, more evidence the Earth is warming, according to the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina.

“The milestone only highlights what we already know -- the world has warmed over the last several decades and it continues to warm,” said Jake Crouch, a scientist at the National Centers for Environmental Information.

The combined ocean and land temperature was 1.49 degrees Fahrenheit (0.83 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average of 56.7 degrees in April. That made last month the third-warmest April in records going back to 1880, even as temperatures plunged across the U.S. The warmest year on record was 2016, followed by 2015, 2017 and 2014.

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