July was the world’s hottest month ever recorded, a US federal scientific and regulatory agency has reported.

The data shows that the combined land and ocean-surface temperature was 0.93C (1.68F) above the 20th Century average of 15.8C (60.4F).

It is the highest temperature since record-keeping began 142 years ago. The previous record, set in July 2016, was equalled in 2019 and 2020.

Experts believe this is due to the long-term impact of climate change.

In a statement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that July’s “unenviable distinction” was a cause for concern, BBC reported.

The combined land and ocean-surface temperature was 0.01C higher than the 2016 record.

In the Northern Hemisphere, land-surface temperature reached an “unprecedented” 1.54C higher than average, surpassing a previous record set in 2012.

The data also showed that July was Asia’s hottest month on record, as well as Europe’s second hottest after July 2018.

The NOAA statement also included a map of significant climate “anomalies” in July, which noted that global tropical cyclone activity this year has been unusually high for the number of na