August 2013 tied August 2005 for the fourth-highest average global temperature since record keeping began more than 130 years ago, a report from NOAA said Wednesday.
Combined average land and ocean surface temperatures were 0.62 degrees Celsius (1.12 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century record of 15.6°C (60.1°F) based on global data for the month of August collected between 1880 and 2013.
When factoring only global land surface temperatures for August, the numbers were slightly warmer at 0.77°C (1.39°F) above the 20th century average of 13.8°C (56.9°F).
NOAA said temperature anomalies on land and at sea were taken into account and analyzed separately before being factored into the global data set.
"This marks the fourth consecutive month (since May 2013) that the monthly global temperature has ranked among the top six warmest for its respective month," NOAA wrote in its report. "During August, warmer-than-average temperatures across most of the world's ocean surfaces contributed to the anomalous warmth."
Despite being winter in the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand reported its warmest August ever since national record-keeping began in 1909, with a temperature average 1.9°C (3.4°F) above the 1971-2000 average. Nearby Australia reported its second warmest average August temperature since it began taking records in 1910.
Each month, NOAA has been releasing its assessment of global temperature data. For the period of June to August (summertime in the Northern Hemisphere, winter in the Southern Hemisphere), the data matched 2009 data as the fifth warmest on global record.