Global warming hiatus

The return of the cooling La Nina weather phenomenon this year should help lower temperatures somewhat after months of global heat records, the United Nations' weather agency said Monday.

The average global temperature hit a new high on Monday, July 3, surpassing the planet-wide average of 17 degrees Celsius for the first time, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

US researchers said the new record is the highest since systematic records of daily temperatures have been kept since the late 19th century.

The world's oceans have suddenly spiked much hotter and well above record levels in the last few weeks, with scientists trying to figure out what it means and whether it forecasts a surge in atmospheric warming.

If you spend a lot of time talking to scientists about climate change, there's one word you'll hear time and time again, and yet it's hardly ever mentioned in the public discussion of climate change. The word is "non-linear."

July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, according to scientists. Their predictions are even more alarming as 2015 will most certainly be the hottest year on record.

With temperature data showing 2014 currently tied for the hottest year on record, the U.N. weather agency on Dec. 4 rejected claims that global warming has paused.

The World Meteorological Organization said the global average temperature in January-October was 0.57 Celsius (1.03 Fahrenheit) above average, the same as in record hot year 2010.