Preliminary data released by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, on Monday revealed that February 2016 broke previous monthly records by an unprecedented amount, reported The Guardian. The global surface temperatures across land and ocean in February this year were 1.35-degrees-Celsius warmer than the average temperature for the month, from the baseline period of 1951-1980, said the report. The previous global record was set just a month ago, with January 2016 being 1.15-degrees-Celsius above the average for the baseline period. Since April 2015, every month has broken its respective monthly temperature record.

NASA attributed the spike in temperature to the El Nino weather pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean and global warming caused by humans. The Washington Post reported that the American state of Alaska, located northwest of Canada, was warmer than normal on 49 out of the first 50 days of 2016. While 2015 was declared the warmest year in history, the average temperature in India has risen by 2.2 degrees Celsius over the past 200 years.