2016 is likely to be the hottest year on record

A thermometer displays 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Farenheit) as tourists pull their suitcases during a hot spring day in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain, June 8. [Photo/Agencies]

2016 is on pace to be the hottest year on record. This past May was the warmest May month in a 137-year period, breaking global temperature records, according to a report published on June 23 by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said a CNN report.

The new data shows that May was the 13th consecutive month to have soaring global temperatures across land and sea surfaces. This is the longest and hottest streak since temperature record-keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA.

Warmer conditions are being felt across areas like Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Central America, northern South America, northern Europe, Africa, Oceania, and parts of southern and eastern Asia, according to the Land & Ocean Temperature Percentiles map by NOAA.

As the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide rises, so does the temperature. Carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere surpassed 400 parts per million in May at the South Pole — the last place on the planet to hit the milestone, NOAA said.

Increased carbon dioxide comes partly from burning fossil fuels, which is driving global warming, NASA has previously reported.

The ongoing heat has hit areas like the Arctic pretty hard, prompting an early onset melting of critical sea ice. The same is happening for Greenland’s ice sheet and the increased temperatures are bringing less snow cover for the Northern Hemisphere too.