"Last month was the warmest May on record, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Tuesday.

It was also the 303rd consecutive month that was hotter than the 20th century global average for that month, according to Deke Arndt, chief of the climate monitoring at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center."

Deborah Zabarenko reports for Reuters June 16, 2010. [2]