Earth sets 9th straight monthly heat record

Re; News 24

Washington - The January figures are in, and Earth's string of hottest-months-on-record has now reached nine in a row. But NASA said January stood out: The temperature was above normal by the highest margin of any month on record.

NASA said January 2016 was 1.13°C above normal.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which calculates temperatures differently, said January's average global temperature was a record 13°C, which is 1.04°C above normal. NOAA says this was above normal by the second biggest margin in history; the greatest was this past December.

NASA chief climate scientist Gavin Schmidt blamed the record heat mostly on man-made climate change, with an assist from El Nino.

Records go back to 1880.

I am still on the fence somewhat on this particular matter, but I do find the statement above interesting. 
As for the measurement records dating back to 1880. Was the means of measurement back then 100% in line with the means of measurement in the modern day? My reason for the question, when the whole debate hangs on fractions of a degree, exactly how accurate were the measurement tools 136 years ago?  

 All the measuring stations were recalibrated a while ago, which resulted in the average going up. Te El Nino is the strongest it has been in 50 years, which plays a large role in global temperature...but is this El Nino a result of global warming or just a continuation of a natural phenomena? In geological terms, even a 1000 years is just a blink, so whatever the stats show for 130 odd years is quite meaningless. The model is just too complex to make any predictions. Obviously the earth will change as a result of the increase in human activity, but IMO greenhouse emissions are the least of our problems. 

 Draad
El Nino was first discovered and named in 1901 - long before the present situation was encountered.  El Nino affects the rainfall all over the world and as a result higher rainfall occurs in some areas - while severe drought occurs in other parts of the world.  
I think the phenomenon will get weaker over the next few years.   With El Nino not been a problem the temperatures - especially in drought areas will go lower.
All I can say is that the temperature where I live was abnormally high in December and January - but we were lucky we did get some rain from time to time.   

 The strongest El Niño ever, we shouldn't be surprised temperatures are elevated. This too will change. These nutters have been predicting far more radical changes by now. Here are a few examples and as you read them ask yourself if the talking heads are any wiser today:

94. July 26, 1999 The Birmingham Post: “Scientists are warning that some of the Himalayan glaciers could vanish within ten years because of global warming. A build-up of greenhouse gases is blamed for the meltdown, which could lead to drought and flooding in the region affecting millions of people.”

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95. October 15, 1990 Carl Sagan: “The planet could face an ‘ecological and agricultural catastrophe’ by the next decade if global warming trends continue.”

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96. Sept 11, 1999, The Guardian: “A report last week claimed that within a decade, the disease (malaria) will be common again on the Spanish coast. The effects of global warming are coming home to roost in the developed world.”

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97. March 29, 2001, CNN: “In ten year’s time, most of the low-lying atolls surrounding Tuvalu’s nine islands in the South Pacific Ocean will be submerged under water as global warming rises sea levels.”

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98. 1969, Lubos Moti, Czech physicist: “It is now pretty clearly agreed that CO2 content [in the atmosphere] will rise 25% by 2000. This could increase the average temperature near the earth’s surface by 7 degrees Fahrenheit. This in turn could raise the level of the sea by 10 feet. Goodbye New York. Goodbye Washington, for that matter.”

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99. 2005, Andrew Simms, policy director of the New Economics Foundation: “Scholars are predicting that 50 million people worldwide will be displaced by 2010 because of rising sea levels, desertification, dried up aquifers, weather-induced flooding and other serious environmental changes.”

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100. Oct 20, 2009, Gordon Brown UK Prime Minister (referring to the Copenhagen climate conference): “World leaders have 50 days to save the Earth from irreversible global warming.”