El Nino Led to Hottest Average Global Temperature in February

Because of the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere over the El Nino event in the Pacific Ocean, February’s average global temperature was the hottest on record, according to researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The average global temperature was 0.95 degrees Fahrenheit above the 10-year average for February, the researchers said Wednesday. The Northern Hemisphere was 1.21 degrees above the 10-year average, while the Southern Hemisphere was 0.68 degrees above it.

Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II