"July was the hottest on record globally as a large El Nino event gathered strength in the Pacific, making it more likely that 2015 will exceed last year as the warmest year recorded.

Average land and sea-surface temperatures worldwide were 0.38 degrees above the 1981-2010 average, easily exceeding the previous record July anomaly of 0.30 degrees set in 1998, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The record for July is likely to be matched by other agencies in coming days, such as the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration when they release their monthly reports."

Peter Hannam reports for the Sydney Morning Herald Augsust 15, 2015. [2]