July was the hottest month experienced on human record, and its impacts reverberated around the globe, as Emma Graham-Harrison reports for The Guardian:

“In Siberia, melting permafrost released anthrax that had been frozen in a reindeer carcass for decades, starting a deadly outbreak. In Baghdad, soaring temperatures forced the government to shut down for days at a time. In Kuwait, thermometers hit a record 54C (129F).”

NASA results finds that last month’s temperatures were 0.84C hotter than the 1951-1980 average for July, making July 2016 the hottest month since records began in 1880. The record global temperatures saw a boost from the tail end of the El Niño phenomenon, but scientists warn that last month’s record temperatures could forebode future records, including possibly making 2016 the hottest year on record.

“Even if we have it augmented by El Niño, it’s quite concerning as a citizen to see that we are flirting with very high numbers, and a record is a record,” said Jean-Noël Thepaut, head of Europe’s Copernicus climate change service.