Soaring temperatures worldwide made July the Earths hottest month in modern times, setting a new high mark for global heat in 137 years of record-keeping, United States government scientists said on Wednesday.

The report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration came just two days after the US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration released its climate data, which also found July was a record-breaking month.

July is typically the hottest month for the globe, and last month didn't disappoint, said a summary of the monthly report by NOAA.

July 2016 was 1.57 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, breaking last years record for the warmest July on record by 0.11 degrees.

Scientists say the heating trend is being driven by fossil-fuel burning, and is made worse by the ocean warming phenomenon known as El Nino, which came to an end last month.

Julys global average of temperatures taken over land and ocean surfaces was the highest for any month in the NOAA global temperature dataset record, which dates back to 1880.

July also marks the 15th consecutive month of breaking monthly temperature records, the longest such streak in the 137-year record, NOAA said.

The report found above average warmth across most of the Earth, with new records observed in parts of Indonesia, southern Asia, and New Zealand.

Places that saw near average or cooler than normal temperatures last month included the northwestern United States, eastern Canada, southern South America, southwestern Australia, north central Russia, Kazakhstan, and India.

Temperatures were record high even though El Nino has ended, and neither the warming trend of El Nino or the cooler La Nina prevailed across the tropical Pacific Ocean during
July 2016.