For much of the United States, September typically is one of the transition months as we edge out of summer and start moving toward fall.

Recent years though have not followed that trend as record warm temperatures were marked in many different ways. 

September 2023 is a notable one especially. It shattered several records not only in the month, but the abnormal warmth also helped make 2023 the warmest entire year for the globe on record. 

To smash old records is no small feat as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been keeping records for 176 years. Some worldwide data goes back even further.

Let’s take a closer look at this record breaking warmth, the average global temperature for September 2023 was 2.59°F above the 20th century average of 59°F, according to NOAA.

September 2023 was the 49th consecutive September above the 20th century average. Even more, that month added on to the 535th consecutive month streak of temperatures averaging above the 20th century average. 

Just a year later, September 2024 marked the second warmest September on record for the world. That year for the month of September the global average temperature was 2.23°F above the 20th century average (again 59°F). With this month not beating September 2023’s record, this finally broke the streak of global record breaking warm months (that started in May of 2023) that lasted 15 months, according to NOAA. 

Not to be outdone by 2023, September 2024 helped to solidify 2024 as the warmest year as a whole for the globe on record, according to NOAA. 

While September 2025 so far looks to keep the streak of above normal temperature anomalies going, we will see where it ranks among the records.