New Jersey sizzled in July — and climate scientists warn it’s trending even hotter.

“Eight of the 10 warmest Julys, going back 130 years, have all been since 2010,” said state climatologist Dave Robinson Tuesday at a discussion about New Jersey’s changing climate organized by the New Jersey Interagency on Climate Resilience.

Studies show New Jersey has hot spots — “urban heat islands” that absorb and radiate energy. Another factor: Jersey shares its long shoreline with a warming Atlantic. That’s helped raise average annual temperatures here 3.5 degrees between 1970 and last year, putting New Jersey among the nation’s fastest-warming states.

“Our oceans are warming … and there’s more moisture in the atmosphere, and with more moisture in the atmosphere, you’re seeing your nighttime low temperatures rise at a more rapid rate,” Robinson said.

“The excessive heat is also allowing the air to hold more water, and the warm temperatures are also contributing to some of these heavy rainfalls, as well,” said Jennifer Brady, a senior data analyst with Climate Central in Princeton.

These summer heat waves intensify the risk of heat stroke and other health problems, according to advocates at the meeting.

“[O]ur body’s main way to stay cool, is far less efficient when it’s very humid outside, which is unfortunately something we have seen multiple times this summer,” said Sarah Johnson of the National Weather Service.

New Jersey has seen tropical downpours — like Tropical Storm Ida, which killed 30 people in the state. But again, it’s the warming ocean that worries climatologists. They cited a study of Superstorm Sandy, which gathered enormous strength from above-average water temperatures.

“The storm would have taken the same odd path, but it would have been a weaker storm if sea surface temperatures had been close to normal. So that was what worries me about the future with tropical storms in New Jersey,” Robinson said.

The group urged state officials to make New Jersey more resilient to floods and focus on keeping people cooler where they live and work.