<p>The planet's average temperature for January-August was 58.5 degrees Fahrenheit (14.7 Celsius), tying the record heat set for that period in 1998, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said.<br /><br />While 1998 was the hottest year through the first eight months, 2005 is the hottest year on record for the full year.<br /><br />NOAA's National Climatic Data Center also reported: It was the third-hottest August on record with an average temperature for the month of 61.2 degrees F (16.2 C). The hottest August was 1998, followed by 2009.<br /><br />The meteorological summer -- June-August -- averaged 61.3 degrees F (16.2 C), making it the second-hottest summer on record worldwide behind 1998.<br /><br />Meanwhile, a separate report from the National Snow and Ice Data Center said Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year and is the third-lowest extent recorded since satellites began measuring minimum sea ice extent in 1979.<br /><br />Arctic sea ice covered an average of 6.0 million square kilometres during August. This is 22 per cent below the 1979-2000 average extent and the 14th consecutive August with below-average Arctic sea ice extent, NOAA reported.<br /><br />Melting sea ice is part of a pattern of changes atmospheric scientists attribute to global warming, which has been documented in rising temperatures over the last several decades.<br /><br />Other changes include melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica, which can lead to rising sea levels, a decline in glaciers and changes in weather patterns around the world.<br /><br />The new climate report noted that August was hotted than normal in eastern Europe, eastern Canada and parts of eastern Asia but cooler-than-average in Australia, central Russia and southern South America.<br /><br />It was the hottest August since 1961 in China, but the coolest August since 1993 in the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>The planet's average temperature for January-August was 58.5 degrees Fahrenheit (14.7 Celsius), tying the record heat set for that period in 1998, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said.<br /><br />While 1998 was the hottest year through the first eight months, 2005 is the hottest year on record for the full year.<br /><br />NOAA's National Climatic Data Center also reported: It was the third-hottest August on record with an average temperature for the month of 61.2 degrees F (16.2 C). The hottest August was 1998, followed by 2009.<br /><br />The meteorological summer -- June-August -- averaged 61.3 degrees F (16.2 C), making it the second-hottest summer on record worldwide behind 1998.<br /><br />Meanwhile, a separate report from the National Snow and Ice Data Center said Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year and is the third-lowest extent recorded since satellites began measuring minimum sea ice extent in 1979.<br /><br />Arctic sea ice covered an average of 6.0 million square kilometres during August. This is 22 per cent below the 1979-2000 average extent and the 14th consecutive August with below-average Arctic sea ice extent, NOAA reported.<br /><br />Melting sea ice is part of a pattern of changes atmospheric scientists attribute to global warming, which has been documented in rising temperatures over the last several decades.<br /><br />Other changes include melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica, which can lead to rising sea levels, a decline in glaciers and changes in weather patterns around the world.<br /><br />The new climate report noted that August was hotted than normal in eastern Europe, eastern Canada and parts of eastern Asia but cooler-than-average in Australia, central Russia and southern South America.<br /><br />It was the hottest August since 1961 in China, but the coolest August since 1993 in the United Kingdom.</p>