Earth's record streak of record heat keeps on sizzling

WASHINGTON — Earth's record-breaking heat is sounding an awful lot like a broken record.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that August, this past summer and the first eight months of 2015 all smashed global records for heat.

That's the fifth straight record hot season in a row and the fourth consecutive record hot month. Meteorologists say 2015 is a near certainty to eclipse 2014 as the hottest year on record.

Since 2000, Earth has broken monthly heat records 20 times and seasonal heat records 11 times. Scientists blame a combination of human-caused climate change and natural El Nino.

Earth broke the August record by a sixth of a degree and the summer record by a fifth of a degree. Records go back to 1880.