WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The global temperature in January ranked among the five warmest months on record, despite the cooling influence of La Nina this winter, an American climate agency said on Tuesday.
The average global temperature in January was about 0.71 degrees Celsius above the 20th-century average of 12 degrees, according to a report released by the National Centers for Environmental Information under National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States.
This average temperature was the fifth highest for the month of January in the NOAA's record, which dates back to 1880, it says.
This was the 42nd consecutive January (since 1977) and the 397th consecutive month (since January 1985) with temperatures above the 20th-century average, it says.
The last four years (2015-2018) saw the five warmest Januarys on record, providing solid evidences that the global climate is warming.
Also, it reported that the Earth's Polar Regions continued to experience record-low ice conditions.
The average Arctic sea ice coverage in January was 9.4 percent below the 1981-2010 average, the smallest for the month since records began in 1979.
The Antarctic sea ice extent in January was 17.4 percent below the 1981-2010 average, the second smallest January on record.
