World has hottest September on record: NOAA

Last month was the hottest September since record keeping began in 1880, the US National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) said Monday.

The average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces combined for the month was at 15.72 degrees Celsius, 0.72 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average, the NOAA said in a report.

"With the exception of February, every month to date in 2014 has been among its four warmest on record, with May, June, August, and September all record warm," it said.

It also marked the 38th consecutive September with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average global temperature for September occurred in 1976.

According to the NOAA, warmer-than-average temperatures were evident over most of the global land surface, except for central Russia, some areas in eastern and northern Canada, and a small region in Namibia.

Meanwhile, record warmth was notable in much of northwestern Africa, coastal regions of southeastern South America, southwestern Australia, parts of the Middle East, and regions of southeastern Asia.

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for January-September tied with 1998 as the warmest such period on record, at 0.68 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average of 14.1 degrees Celsius, the NOAA said.

"If 2014 maintains this temperature departure from average for the remainder of the year, it will be the warmest year on record," it added.