Scientists Confirm: 2014 Set to Be Hottest Year in Recorded Human History

After a wave of record-breaking months, it is nearly certain at this point that 2014 will go down as the year since human began tracking global temperatures. (Image: Shutterstock)

Scientists Confirm: 2014 Set to Be Hottest Year in Recorded Human History

As October breaks new monthly record, NOAA say this year poised to warmest year since measures began

Don't let the winter cold spell fool you. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealed Thursday that 2014 is set to be the hottest year in recorded history, with October setting another record for monthly temperatures.

This marks the fifth month out of the past six to set a record high global temperature, according to NOAA. The average temperature across the world for the month of October was 58.43 degrees Fahrenheit, beating the prior record for the month, set in 2003, by 0.02 degrees.

The agency notes that ocean temperatures are also warming considerably and announced that October was the sixth month in a row that global ocean temperatures broke records.

"It is becoming pretty clear that 2014 will end up as the warmest year on record," said Deke Arndt, climate monitoring chief for NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, according to the Associated Press. "The remaining question is: How much?"

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