The federal government says July marked the warmest month on record since scientists began keeping temperature records in the 19th century.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the large federal agency that monitors weather, issued the findings Thursday in a report that will undoubtedly be used by the Obama administration to justify strict new emission regulations it has been rolling out to combat the trend of global warming. The agency’s climate data has been used in creating the president’s climate change agenda and the new rules.
“The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for July 2015 was the highest for July in the 136-year period of record,” the agency says. The temperature was 1.46 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the 20th century average temperature of 60.4°F, “surpassing the previous record set in 1998.”
“As July is climatologically the warmest month of the year globally, this monthly global temperature … was also the highest among all 1,627 months in the record that began in January 1880,” the agency said. It says the July temperature is currently increasing at an average rate of 1.17 degree each century.
The Obama administration agrees with the many atmospheric scientists who say global temperatures are increasing due to manmade factors such as the use of fossil fuels to power vehicles and produce electricity. The Thursday study does not mention climate change or global warming in its assessment, which isn’t a policy document but a meteorological report.
The new July data comes just days after the administration announced its latest regulatory foray to combat climate change, targeting the oil and gas industry’s use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to produce oil and natural gas. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed rules to limit the methane emitted by fracking wells. Methane is considered one of the most potent greenhouse gases, which are blamed for warming the climate.
Ahead of the methane rules, the EPA on Aug. 3 also finalized the administration’s centerpiece in combating the threat of global warming – the Clean Power Plan. The plan places states on the hook to reduce their emissions 32 percent by 2030. Many states plan to fight the rule in court, and the GOP is adamantly opposed to the regulations, which it calls illegal and a “power grab.”
The oil and gas industry are opposing the methane regulations, which they argue will drive up costs and place a damper on the economy, which has gained from the U.S. becoming the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world.
The rules are also expected to increase the use of renewable energy, which President Obama will tout Monday in a major energy speech in Las Vegas. The speech will be delivered at Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s eighth annual Clean Energy Summit.
The summit has been a touchstone event for the Democratic Party to tout achievements in making renewable energy such as solar and wind competitive with fossil fuels.
