July 2015 recorded as Earth's hottest month

Data shows first seven months of 2015 are the hottest January-to-July span on record

July 2015 was the hottest month recorded in Earth’s history, according to preliminary data reveal by NASA.

Scientists confirm the average world temperature reached 16.6 Celsius this year in July, 0.08 degrees higher than the previous recorded highest world temperature in 1998.

Further, the first seven months of 2015 are the hottest January-to-July span on record.

The cause behind the rising temperatures is believed to be global climate change as well as the El Nino weather phenomenon. Researchers have cautioned that this year El Nino could be "one of the three or four strongest events on record."

Read: El Niño may aggravate drought situation in Pakistan

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate scientist Jake Crouch said the data is proof that the world is warming up and it is time to look into the impact of the rising temperature on the planet. "The world is warming. It is continuing to warm. That is being shown time and time again in our data."

"Now that we are fairly certain that 2015 will be the warmest year on record, it is time to start looking at what are the impacts of that? What does that mean for people on the ground?" Crouch added.

Read: Heat is on: Similar heatwave may scorch Pakistan in 2016

The UK Met Office also confirms that this year’s El Nino may be particularly harsh. El Nino which is  a natural occurrence, appears as large envelope of warm water in the Pacific Ocean and pushes up temperature globally.

While Matt McGrath at the UK Met Office believes the increased CO2 emissions are the key driver in rising world temperature he also acknowledged that El Nino is another significant factor.

Read: No let-up: Experts warn of more frequent extreme weather events

However, climate scientist Michael Mann noted the unprecedented increase in world temperatures is proof that humans are causing direct impact on the world climate. "It is exceptionally unlikely that we would be seeing a record year, during a record-warm decade, during a multidecadal period of warmth that appears to be unrivaled over at least the past millennium, if it were not for the rising levels of planet-warming gases produced by fossil fuel burning," he said, speaking to Huffington Post in January this year.

This article originally appeared on Huffington Post