Experts say chemical emissions and the El Niño weather pattern likely contributed to record-breaking temperatures around the globe. Watch video
A NASA analysis of global temperatures shows the world was warmer than normal during all three months of the 2015-2016 winter, and February's average temperature was significantly above its normal average.
The analysis, released during the weekend, shows February 2016 was 1.35 degrees Celsius (or 2.43 degrees Fahrenheit) above average across the globe. January 2016 was 1.14 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal, and that was the biggest anomaly -- the fluctuation between the normal temperature and the actual temperature -- before February's number topped it, according to a report by The Washington Post.
The warm January and warm February followed the hottest year ever recorded.
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Surface temperatures across the planet in 2015 were the warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that oversees the National Weather Service.
Prior to 2015, the warmest year on record was 2014.
Since the late 19th century, the Earth's average surface temperature has risen about 1 degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, a rise that NASA and NOAA officials say is largely related to an increase in carbon dioxide and other man-made emissions into the atmosphere.
This map shows the temperature departures - how much higher or lower the temperatures were compared to normal - around the world in February 2016. (NASA) Officials also say short-term variations in global temperatures can be driven by major weather events such as El Nino or La Nina, which warm or cool the tropical Pacific Ocean and cause big atmospheric changes around the world.
Most of the warming documented on Earth occurred during the past 35 years, with 15 of the 16 warmest years on record occurring since 2001, NASA and NOAA said in its 2015 report, "Annual Global Analysis For 2015." (see full report below) Last year was the first time the global average temperatures were 1 degree Celsius or more above the 1880-1899 average.
While some climate experts and meteorologists have expressed alarm over the recent warming trend, others say there's no reason to panic but the warmup is something that needs to be carefully monitored by policy makers.
"The anomalies in global temperatures seen over the past two years have been remarkable," said New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson, who teaches at Rutgers University. "With most every month, a new record of some sort is established. This may be for overall global warmth, a maximum global monthly anomaly, or a monthly record or string of monthly records."
Robinson believes the current El Nino weather pattern, which started in the fall of 2015 and is continuing now, is contributing warmth to the atmosphere. That natural warmth, combined with human-induced emissions, is what may have pushed the global temperatures into record-breaking territory, the state climatologist said.
This is something many climate experts had predicted would happen after the last strong El Nino weather event developed in 1998, a year in which record global warmth occurred.
Here in New Jersey, three of the last four months were warmer than normal, and overall the 2015-2016 meteorological winter (December, January and February) was the fifth warmest winter on record in the Garden State.
Although January was slightly colder than normal -- by one-tenth of 1 degree -- and February was the 19th warmest on record, December 2015 was by far the warmest December ever recorded in New Jersey. That month was more than 5 degrees warmer than the state's previous record and about 12 degrees warmer than normal.
New Jersey's weather records go back to 1895.
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.