Land and ocean temperatures were the warmest ever recorded in April 2010. Image from NCDC.

This was actually expected by most of the science community, but it is now official.  This April was the warmest ever recorded on the instrumental record.

Here is what NOAA said today:

Global Highlights

• The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for April 2010 was the warmest on record at 14.5°C (58.1°F), which is 0.76°C (1.37°F) above the 20^th century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F). This was also the 34^th consecutive April with global land and ocean temperatures above the 20^th century average.
• The worldwide ocean surface temperature was 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the 20^th century average of 16.0°C (60.9°F) and the warmest April on record. The warmth was most pronounced in the equatorial portions of the major oceans, especially the Atlantic.
• The April worldwide land surface temperature was 1.29°C (2.32°F) above the 20^th century average of 8.1°C (46.5 °F)—the third warmest on record.
• For the year-to-date, the global combined land and ocean surface temperature of 13.3°C (56.0°F) was the warmest January-April period. This value is 0.69°C (1.24°F) above the 20^th century average.