The first half of 2015 was the hottest on record. Period.

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

The average temperature around the globe was 1.58°F higher than the 20th century average during the first six months of 2015, according to Time Magazine. This officially makes the hottest start to a year in recorded history.

The announcement, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is the latest news showing record temperatures across the planet in recent years. The 2015 record easily surpassed a record for high temperatures in the first six months of the year set last year. The record highs occurred on both land and in oceans, with the only areas on the globe not showing above average warm records in the Atlantic Ocean between Greeland and the United Kingdom.

The news is no surprise to climate scientists, who had previously declared 2014 to be the hottest year on record, measuring .7°F higher than average.

“If you are younger than 29-years old, you haven’t lived in a month that was cooler than the 20th century average,” University of Georgia meteorologist Marshall Shepherd told Time. February 1985 was the last time where average global temperatures for the month were colder than they were for the 20th century on average.

According to the Western Regional Climate Center, 11 of the past 12 months of maximum temperature measured in Sandpoint were significantly higher than average. The average temperature was 3.3°F higher than the average in the last 12 months. The averages range from data collected from 1910 to present.