June Global Temperatures Warmest on Record
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, July 21, 2010 (ENS) – Last month’s combined global land and ocean surface temperature made it the warmest June on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. The global temperature also broke the records for April-June and January-June time periods.
The monthly analysis from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville is based on temperature records going back to 1880.
Each of the 10 warmest average global temperatures recorded since 1880 have occurred in the last 15 years. The warmest year-to-date on record, through June, was 1998, and 2010 is warmer so far, NOAA’s climate scientists said.
Worldwide, the average land surface temperature was the warmest on record for June and for the April-June period, the analysis shows. Land surface temperature was the second warmest on record for the year-to-date (January-June) period, behind 2007.
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Melting sea ice rubble field, Chukchi Sea, Arctic Ocean, June 25, 2010. (Photo courtesy Luke Trusel) |
Scientists, researchers and leaders in government and industry use NOAA’s monthly reports to help track trends and other changes in the world’s climate. This climate service helps farmers determine what and when to plant and guides resource managers with critical decisions about water, energy and other vital assets.
The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for June 2010 was the warmest on record at 61.1 degrees F (16.2 degrees C), which is 1.22 degrees F (0.68 degrees C) above the 20th century average of 59.9 degrees F (15.5 degrees C).
The global June land surface temperature was 1.93 degrees F (1.07 degrees C) above the 20th century average of 55.9 degrees F (13.3 degrees C) – the warmest on record.
Warmer-than-average conditions dominated the globe, with the most prominent warmth in Peru, the central and eastern contiguous United States and eastern and western Asia.
Cooler-than-average regions included Scandinavia, southern China and the northwestern contiguous United States.
According to China’s Beijing Climate Center, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Jilin had their warmest June since national records began in 1951. Meanwhile, Guizhou experienced its coolest June on record.
According to Spain’s meteorological office, the nationwide average temperature was 0.7 degrees F (0.4 degrees C) above normal, Spain’s coolest June since 1997.
Out on the oceans, the worldwide ocean surface temperature was 0.97 degrees F (0.54 degrees C) above the 20th century average of 61.5 degrees F (16.4 degrees C), which was the fourth warmest June on record. The Atlantic Ocean showed the greatest temperature increase.
Sea surface temperature continued to decrease across the equatorial Pacific Ocean during June 2010, consistent with the end of an El Nino warming pattern.
According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, cooler La Nina conditions are likely to develop during the northern hemisphere summer 2010.
Arctic sea ice covered an average of 4.2 million square miles (10.9 million square kilometers) during June. This is 10.6 percent below the 1979-2000 average extent and the lowest June extent since records began in 1979. This was also the 19th consecutive June with below-average Arctic sea ice extent.
Antarctic sea ice extent in June was above average, 8.3 percent above the 1979-2000 average-resulting in the largest June extent on record.
According to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, the continent had its fourth-driest June on record.
The first six months of 2010 were the driest since 1929 for the United Kingdom, according to the UK Met Office. The average rainfall during January-June 2010 was 14.3 inches (362.5 mm), just 3.4 inches (86.8 mm) above January-June 1929.
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