July was the hottest month in history, setting a new and troubling record as the planet continues to warm due to the burning of fossil fuels, US government scientists said Thursday.

Not only was last month the record-breaker for heat across land and sea surfaces worldwide when compared to past months of July going back more than a century, "this was also the all-time highest monthly temperature in the 1880-2015 record," said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.