Earth’s average November 2020 temperatures were the hottest of any year on record in large part because of human activity, according to data released by the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. November temperatures were 1.4° F (0.77° C) above pre-industrial levels, beating the 2019 record by an unambiguous margin. “The average global temperature is increasing at an unprecedented rate due to human influences,” Marybeth Arcodia, a doctoral student studying climate dynamics at the University of Miami, told the New York Times. “That’s the main factor here.” NASA and NOAA will release their temperature averages for November in the coming weeks, which may be slightly different because of how the agencies interpret data. (Washington Post $, New York Times $, Deutsche Welle, The Independent, Bloomberg Quint, CNN, Mashable)