New NASA research shows that Earth's atmosphere contains an unexpectedly large amount of carbon tetrachloride (CC14), an ozone -depleting chemical that was banned worldwide decades ago. According to the study, global emissions of CCl4 average 39 kilotons per year—approximately 30 percent of peak emissions prior to its banning.

Both NASA and NOAA have ranked May 2014 as the planet’s hottest May since records began in 1880. ​UPDATE: Since this article was published, June 2014, August 2014, September 2014, and October 2014 have also set records for monthly average temperatures.