February was Earth's most unusually warm month on record, blowing away the record that had been set just one month prior.

The new findings, contained in preliminary data released Saturday by NASA and backed up by information from other research groups, show that the combination of a record strong El Niño event in the tropical Pacific Ocean and human-caused global warming drove global temperatures to levels never before seen since instrument records began in 1880.

Monthly global average surface temperatures, with Feb. 2016 indicated. Image: NASA GISS/Mashable

The NASA data, which is subject to adjustment as scientists refine their analysis, shows that February had a global average surface temperature of 1.35 degrees Celsius above the 1951 to 1980 average, or 2.43 degrees Fahrenheit above average.

The 1.35-degree Celsius temperature anomaly in February beat the anomaly recorded in January, which itself was a record high departure from average for any month. According to NASA, the global average surface temperature during January was 1.14 degrees Celsius above average, or 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to the 1951 to 1980 average.

This means that temperatures in February 2016 had the largest departure from average of any month in NASA's records since 1880.

To put it more plainly, February stands out for its unusual heat more than any other month in the modern climate record.

The previous warmest February, according to NASA, was in 1998, which was also a year with an extremely strong El Niño.

However, in an important indication of how far human-caused global warming has shifted the baseline state of the planet's climate, February 2016 came out 0.846 degrees Celsius, or 1.52 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than February 1998, despite the similar intensity of the El Niño events in both years.

In fact, studies indicate that with the highest levels of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere in all of human history, global average temperatures may now be higher than any time since at least 4,000 years ago.

In an indication of how striking February's data is, consider the reaction of Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), who helps conduct these analyses:

Normally I don't comment on individual months (too much weather, not enough climate), but last month was special.https://t.co/nALWMlNDcP — Gavin Schmidt (@ClimateOfGavin) March 12, 2016

NASA's temperature records are backed up by information from satellites, which showed record high amounts of atmospheric heat in February.

According to data from the University of Alabama at Huntsville, the planet had a global average temperature that was 0.83 degrees Celsius, or 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit, above average during the month of February. (Satellites don't measure surface temperature in the same way a backyard thermometer does. Rather, they detect levels of atmospheric heat.)

That reading was a significant increase above the 0.3 degrees Celsius anomaly, or 0.54 degrees Fahrenheit, from satellite-based temperatures in January, which also set a record.

Another satellite database maintained by Remote Sensing Systems also showed a huge warming spike in February.

Much of the unusual warmth through the Northern Hemisphere winter so far has been observed across Siberia, much of the Arctic and parts of Central Asia as well as Canada and Alaska. NASA's temperature measuring techniques tend to weigh the Arctic more heavily than other agencies do, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which will report its global monthly data in the coming week.

Ocean heat content trends, showing a huge increase in absorbed heat in recent years. Image: NOAA



In the Arctic, above average air temperatures have helped keep sea ice coverage to record low levels, and a record low sea ice maximum may be set in March.

Arctic sea ice extent for the month of January hit a record low, and it is likely the National Snow and Ice Data Center will soon announce that the annual Arctic sea ice maximum was one of the lowest on record, slightly behind last year's record for the dubious title, and possibly setting up the summer for another melt milestone.

Sea ice extent for 2016 (blue) compared to other record low years. Image: National Snow and Ice data center

The monthly average sea ice extent for January was 42,500 square miles below the previous record low in 2011, and about 405,000 square miles below the 1979-2000 average.

For perspective, that departure from average is equivalent to missing a region of ice the size of the states of Texas, New Mexico, Maryland and New Hampshire combined.

Each temperature spike has jumped off of a higher floor, like a person jumping up and down on an upwardly moving escalator.

It would be wrong to blame El Niño for most of the February temperature spike, according to climate scientists, though its role was likely not minor. El Niño events, including the current one, typically peak in early to mid-winter, and then have a lag effect on global average temperatures and atmospheric heat.

For example, Kevin Trenberth, a senior climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., told Mashable in early March that El Niño likely accounted for about 0.15 degrees Celsius, or 0.27 degrees Fahrenheit, of the 2015 warming at the surface, and that it has a delayed influence on the atmosphere, which likely explains the delayed peak in February, which Trenberth said "was expected."

According to Trenberth and many other climate researchers, the bigger picture is also important, which includes the steadily increasing ocean heat around the world as the oceans absorb the majority of added heat from human-caused global warming.

"The increase in ocean heat content is relentless and provides the memory of global climate change and Earth's energy imbalance," Trenberth said.

In addition, although there are spikes and dips associated with El Niño events and other shorter term sources of climate variability, each temperature spike has jumped off a higher floor, like a person jumping up and down on an upwardly moving escalator. This too is an indication of global warming.

While February's record is noteworthy, for climate scientists, the longer-term trends matter most, not an arbitrarily defined 29-day period.

Whether one looks at a 12-month running average, 5-year average, or better yet, 30-year trends, all show stark increases in global average surface temperatures, which scientists have concluded is largely attributable to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

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