Posts Tagged 'NOAA'
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As The World Burns: 2015 On Pace To Be Hottest Year Ever Recorded; The Latest Global Temperature Data Are Breaking Records
In Uncategorized on June 16, 2015 at 9:02 pm
Road markings appear distorted as the asphalt starts to melt due to the high temperature in New Delhi, India, 27 May 2015. Photograph: Harish Tyagi/EPA
Oldspeak:"I am Jack's complete lack of surprise." –The Narrator, Fight Club
By John Abraham @ The Guardian:
Just today, NASA released its global temperature data for the month of May 2015. It was a scorching 0.71°C (1.3°F) above the long-term average. It is also the hottest first five months of any year ever recorded. As we look at climate patterns over the next year or so, it is likely that this year will set a new all-time record. In fact, as of now, 2015 is a whopping 0.1°C (0.17°F) hotter than last year, which itself was the hottest year on record.
Below, NASA's annual temperatures are shown. Each year's results are shown as black dots. Some years are warmer, some are cooler and we never want to put too much emphasis on any single year's temperature. I have added a star to show where 2015 is so far this year, simply off the chart. The last 12 months are at record levels as well. So far June has been very hot as well, likely to end up warmer than May.
Global surface temperature estimates from NASA GISS.
So why talk about month temperatures or even annual temperatures? Isn't climate about long-term trends?
First, there has been a lot of discussion of the so-called 'pause.' As I have pointed out many times here and in my own research, there has been no pause at all. We know this first by looking at the rate of energy gain within the oceans. But other recent publications, like ones I've written about have taken account of instrument and measurement quality and they too find no pause.
Second, there has been a lot of discussion of why models were running hotter than surface air temperatures. There was a real divergence for a while with most models suggesting more warming. Well with 2014 and 2015, we see that the models and actual surface temperatures are in very close agreement.
When we combine surface temperatures with ocean heat content, as seen below, a clear picture emerges. Warming is continuing at a rapid rate.
Global ocean heat content estimates from NOAA.
There is an emerging view that the so-called surface warming slowdown was caused from poor instrument coverage around the globe, volcanic eruptions, and a multi-year oscillation in the oceans. The issue of instrument coverage is being fixed as we speak.
But, any short term fluctuations can only temporarily influence the long term trend. In the ocean heat content image above, you might notice a slight change in the trend around 2005. The trend change has since disappeared; it was associated with the ocean oscillations I mentioned earlier.
The recent warming skyrocket has put the contrarians in a bad position. In 2013, when contrarian Christopher Monckton repeated a claim that temperatures might decrease by 0.5°C in two years, I challenged him to a $1000 bet. He never took that bet, but we can see he would have lost handily if he had.
More recently, contrarian Judith Curry was reported as warning about decades of cooling (or perhaps lack of warming) stretching out to the 2030s. We see that this prediction is not looking very likely. Other contrarians have made similar predictions and it makes one wonder how much evidence will have to pile up before they climb down.
Just a few months ago, Roy Spencer (another climate contrarian) claimed, "We are probably past the point of reaching a new peak temperature anomaly from the current El Niño, suggesting it was rather weak." While it remains to be seen whether or not he is correct, his own data have shown an uptick in temperatures, and the most recent months have continued the very warm trend. Barring something really unusual, the trend will continue until the end of this year.
I asked climate expert Dr. Joe Romm, Founding Editor of Climate Progress for his thoughts. He reminds us,
Historically, the global temperature trend-line is more like a staircase than a ramp. It now appears we are headed for a step-jump in global temperatures that scientists have been expecting.
Let's hope his prediction is wrong, but let's plan for it to be correct.
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Global Temperatures And Atmospheric CO2: Hottest March Ever; CO2 Hits All-Time High Of 404 ppb. Last 12 Months On Earth Hottest In Recorded History
Oldspeak: "March 2015 was Earth's warmest March since global record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) on Friday. NASA rated March 2015 as the 3rd warmest March on record (small differences in analysis techniques can lead to slightly different rankings from agency to agency, and the two estimates were quite close to each other.) March 2015's warmth makes the year to date period (January – March) the warmest such period on record, and the past twelve months the warmest twelve-month period in recorded history. By NOAA's reckoning, seven of the past eleven months (May, June, August, September, October, and December 2014, along with March 2015) have tied or set new record high monthly temperatures. According to NASA, March 2015 had the 5th largest departure from average for warmth of any month in recorded history. Out of the ten months with the largest departures from average in the NASA database, five have occurred in the past year." -Dr. Jeff Masters
"As temperatures and CO2 rise, our chances of survival dwindles. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick tick…." -OSJ
By Jon Plotkin @ Decoded Science:
NOAA published its report on global land and sea temperatures for March on Friday, April 17. Inasmuch as five of the previous seven months set new records, it was not surprising that March's land and sea temperatures were the highest ever recorded for that month.
The three months of January through March, and the most recent calendar year are also the warmest ever recorded for those periods of time.
Separately, but not coincidentally, the instruments on Mount Mauna Loa in Hawaii found atmospheric CO2 concentrations to be above 404 parts per billion for the first time on April 14. That was the first of four consecutive days above 400.
An Overview Of March Worldwide Land And Sea Temperatures
Most of the Earth was warmer than normal in March – let's look at some specifics:
Very much above normal temperatures stretched across all of northern Europe and Asia.
The United Sates and Canada were split down the middle, with very cold temperatures in the east and very warm temperatures in the west.
All of South America, except for the northern tip, was warm.
Most of Africa was warm, but the northwest was cold.
Northern and eastern Australia were very warm.
All of India was colder than normal.
The largest ocean temperature anomaly continues to be off the west coast of the US and Canada, with the maximum in the Gulf of Alaska.
Overall, warmth was spread evenly between land and sea: The land surface temperatures were second highest for March, and ocean temperatures were third highest.
Warmth was also spread uniformly between the northern and southern hemispheres: The northern hemisphere had its second warmest March and the southern hemisphere tied its third warmest.
March Precipitation
Though precipitation varies greatly from month to month, some trends continued in March:
The drought goes on in California and the American west.
Most of Europe continued to be dry.
Heavy rains inundated the Balkans and Turkey.
Australia and the southern part of South America were dry.
India was wetter than normal.
Arctic Sea Ice Extent
Arctic sea ice extent has been measured by satellite since 1979.
The March measurement was 7.9% below the 1981-2010 average — the lowest Arctic sea ice extent ever measured for the month of March.
Atmospheric CO2 Reaches New High
Since pre-industrial times, the atmospheric content of carbon dioxide (CO2) has risen from 280 to over 400 parts per billion (ppb). In the past week, the value of this greenhouse gas concentration, as measured on Mount Mauna Loa in Hawaii surpassed, 404 ppb for the first time.
The highest reading of 404.83 came on April 14, and the concentration was over 404 for four consecutive days before falling to 403.44 yesteday.
The weekly average for the week starting April 12 was 404.02, surpassing the old record of 403.42 set the previous week.
Carbon dioxide concentration normally peaks in May, so new daily and weekly records are likely to be set in the next few weeks.
Where Is The CO2 Coming From?
Though some of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide may be coming from other sources, the majority comes from power plants and automobile tailpipes.
The process of energy production from hydrocarbons is not a complicated one: A single carbon atom combines with a molecule of oxygen (consisting of two atoms) to make a carbon dioxide molecule (CO2). This chemical reaction releases energy, which is used to power our modern world. The CO2 produced by the combustion process is normally released into the air by power plants and cars.
Carbon dioxide has a natural atmospheric cycle in which the gas is expelled from volcanic sources and washed out of the atmosphere by precipitation. However, this process is a long one; the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide in the last 150 years is unprecedented except for times of very high volcanic activity.
Stemming The Tide Of CO2 Increase
Though the production of greenhouse gases in general, and carbon dioxide in particular, has leveled off in the United States in recent years, the production of energy from fossil fuel burning continues to increase in developing countries. India and China are building coal-fired power plants — the worst of the fossil fuel power sources in terms of CO2 emissions — at a rate of about one plant per week.
The basic facts of the intransigent problem of increasing energy use hasn't changed: Developed countries want to retain their lavish lifestyle; and developing countries want to acquire that lifestyle. A new UN-sponsored climate conference will convene in Paris in December. Representatives of the two sides will try again to reach a compromise that will actually reduce worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.
Decoded Science wishes them luck.
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2014 Was The Hottest Year On Record Globally By Far
In Uncategorized on January 7, 2015 at 1:29 am
Oldspeak: "It's official. 2014 was hot as fuck. Like, Siberian permafrost melting hot. My question is, if it's already record-shattering hot, what happens when El Nino, that usually accounts for abnormally hot periods arrives?!?!? I'm gonna the proverbial hell of all breaks loose. It's my feeling that this is extinction event is happening far faster than even our most learned scientists realize. It is gaining speed in a non-linear fashion. Every single update and revision of the latest science and data speaks of underestimation. This is happening faster and far more unpredictably than even the most advanced climate models can predict. Given these facts, the likelihood of even more abrupt changes and effects, increases daily. Still, something close to silence on this, the only thing that is news, in corporate media. There has been more reporting on NYPD cops turning their backs on the mayor. We need a truth and reconciliation commission on the fate of our Great Mother." -OSJ
By Joe Romm @ Think Progress:
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has announced that 2014 was the hottest year in more than 120 years of record-keeping — by far. NOAA is expected to make a similar call in a couple of weeks and so is NASA.
As the JMA graph shows, there has been no "hiatus" or "pause" in warming. In fact, there has not even been a slowdown. Yes, in JMA's ranking of hottest years, 1998 is in (a distant) second place — but 1998 was an outlier as the graph shows. In fact, 1998 was boosted above the trendline by an unusual super-El Niño. It is usually the combination of the underlying long-term warming trend and the regional El Niño warming pattern that leads to new global temperature records.
What makes setting the record for hottest year in 2014 doubly impressive is that it occurred despite the fact we're still waiting for the start of El Niño. But this is what happens when a species keeps spewing record amounts of heat-trapping carbon pollution into the air, driving CO2 to levels in the air not seen for millions of years, when the planet was far hotter and sea levels tens of feet higher.
The JMA is a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Climate Center of excellence. The WMO had announced a month ago that 2014 was on track to be hottest year on record. Different climate-tracking groups around the world use different data sets, so they can show different results for 2014 depending on how warm December turns out to be.
But in mid-December, NOAA said it's all but certain 2014 will be a record setter. It released this figure showing that
all plausible scenarios for December still leave last year as the hottest ever (click to enlarge):
If you were wondering how 2014 could be the hottest year on record when it wasn't particularly hot in the United States (if we ignore California and Alaska), NBC News has the story. It turns out there's like a whole planet out there that has been getting very toasty:
Some of the hottest places in the world in 2014 included:
Europe was the hottest it's been in 500 years. One new analysis concluded "global warming has made a temperature anomaly like the one observed in 2014 in Europe at least 80 times more likely."
California had record-smashing heat, which helped create its "most severe drought in the last 1200 years."
Australia broke heat records across the continent (for the second year running). Back in January, "temperatures soared higher than 120°F (49°C)."
Much of Siberia "defrosted in spring and early summer under temperatures more than 9°F (5°C) above its 1981 to 2010 average," as Live Science noted. This is the second exceptionally hot summer in a row for the region, and scientists now think the huge crater discovered this year in the area "was probably caused by thawing permafrost."
The permafrost (soon to be renamed the permamelt) contains twice as much carbon as the entire atmosphere. If we don't reverse emissions trends sharply and soon, then the carbon released from it this century alone could boost global warming as much as 1.5F
Anthropogenic Climate Change, Anthropogenic Climate Disruption, Anthropogenic Global Warming, Climate Research, Climate Science, Extreme Heat, Extreme Weather Events, Global Temperature Records, Global Temperature Rise, Heat Trapping Carbon Pollution, NOAA, Non-Human Scale, Record Breaking Temperatures, United Nations World Meteorological Organization
2014 Headed Toward Hottest Year On Record — Here's Why That's Remarkable
In Uncategorized on December 8, 2014 at 10:12 pm
Oldspeak: "It is not remarkable that we keep setting new records for global temperatures — 2005 and then 2010 and likely 2014. Humans are, after all, emitting record amounts of heat-trapping carbon pollution into the air, and carbon dioxide levels in the air are at levels not seen for millions of years, when the planet was far warmer and sea levels tens of feet higher. The figure above from the Met Office makes clear that humans continue to warm the planet… What is remarkable, as the WMO explains, is that we're headed toward record high global temps "in the absence of a full El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It's usually the combination of the long-term manmade warming trend and the regional El Niño warming pattern that leads to new global temperature records. But not this year." -Joe Romm
"With El Nino, 70% to begin within a few months, expect the heat to continue to be on, and shit to get a lot weirder. "Simply put, we are rapidly remaking the planet and beginning to suffer the consequences." –Michael Oppenheimer, professor of geosciences and international, Princeton University. When you consider the reality that there really is no way to realistically change the humans carbon dioxide emissions sharply aside from the collapse of industrial civilization, it's time for most of us to proceed to the acceptance stage of grief. Denial is no longer an option. It's just a matter of time and physics at this point. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…" -OSJ
2014 is currently on track to be hottest year on record, according to new reports from both the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the U.K.'s Met Office Wednesday. Similarly, NOAA reported two weeks ago that 2014 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record.
It is not remarkable that we keep setting new records for global temperatures — 2005 and then 2010 and likely 2014. Humans are, after all, emitting record amounts of heat-trapping carbon pollution into the air, and carbon dioxide levels in the air are at levels not seen for millions of years, when the planet was far warmer and sea levels tens of feet higher. The figure above from the Met Office makes clear that humans continue to warm the planet.
"The provisional information for 2014 means that fourteen of the fifteen warmest years on record have all occurred in the 21st century," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. "There is no standstill in global warming."
As Peter Stott, Head of Climate Attribution at the Met Office, explained: "Our research shows current global average temperatures are highly unlikely in a world without human influence on the climate." While it has been on the cool side in parts of the United States, the Met Office reported that the United Kingdom is headed toward its hottest year on record. Stott noted that, "human influence has also made breaking the current UK temperature record about ten times more likely."
What is remarkable, as the WMO explains, is that we're headed toward record high global temps "in the absence of a full El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)." We get an El Niño "when warmer than average sea-surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific combine, in a self-reinforcing loop, with atmospheric pressure systems," which affects weather patterns around the world.
It's usually the combination of the long-term manmade warming trend and the regional El Niño warming pattern that leads to new global temperature records. But not this year.
Here's a revealing chart from Skeptical Science courtesy of environmental scientist Dana Nuccitelli of NASA's temperature data (with the projection for 2014 in black and white):
This year we are poised to set the global temperature record in an ENSO-neutral year. And while eastern tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures have been warmer than normal in recent months, those temperatures were colder than normal in the beginning months of the year, so the net effect of ENSO on 2014 global temperatures has been minimal.
As one caveat, different climate-tracking groups around the world use different data sets, so it is possible that at the end of the year, some will merely show 2014 tied for the hottest year on record depending on how warm December turns out to be. For NOAA, however, it's all but certain 2014 will be the hottest year on record. Either way, it's remarkable this is happening in an ENSO-neutral year.
Finally, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported Friday that their models indicate "at least a 70% chance that El Niño will be declared in the coming months." If so, then 2015 will very likely top 2014 to become the hottest year on record.
The only way to stop setting new annual temperature records on an increasingly regular basis — until large parts of the planet are uninhabitable — is to sharply change the world's carbon dioxide emissions path starting ASAP.
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NOAA Report: Summer 2014 Hottest On Record, 2014 On Pace To Be Hottest Ever. World's Oceans Account For Most Heat Rise.
In Uncategorized on September 22, 2014 at 8:25 pm
Oldspeak: "All the conditions that existed in Earth's previous 5 mass extinctions, exist right now. Today. No other extinction event has progressed as rapidly as the one we're bearing witness to. The oceans are heating & dying at an unprecedented rate. We have zero ability to stop what is happening. We must accept this. I can't say it better than the esteemed eco-pirate Captain Paul Watson:
"The world is full of ecological fools who deny ecological reality. The world is full of mindless mobs of morons obsessed with petty trivialities or distracted by fantasies ranging from silly religions to entertainment.
What the world is lacking are ecological engineers and warriors ready and willing to address the threats to our planet and especially to our oceans.
What the great majority of people do not understand is this: unless we stop the degradation of our oceans, marine ecological systems will begin collapsing and when enough of them fail, the oceans will die.
And if the oceans die, then civilization collapses and we all die.
One thing for certain however is that we are running out of time."
TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK….
By NOAA National Climatic Data Center:
Global Highlights
The combined average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces for August 2014 was record high for the month, at 0.75°C (1.35°F) above the 20th century average of 15.6°C (60.1°F), topping the previous record set in 1998.
The global land surface temperature was 0.99°C (1.78°F) above the 20th century average of 13.8°C (56.9°F), the second highest on record for August, behind 1998.
For the ocean, the August global sea surface temperature was 0.65°C (1.17°F) above the 20th century average of 16.4°C (61.4°F). This record high departure from average not only beats the previous August record set in 2005 by 0.08°C (0.14°F), but also beats the previous all-time record set just two months ago in June 2014 by 0.03°C (0.05°F).
The combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for the June–August period was also record high for this period, at 0.71°C (1.28°F) above the 20th century average of 16.4°C (61.5°F), beating the previous record set in 1998.
The June–August worldwide land surface temperature was 0.91°C (1.64°F) above the 20th century average, the fifth highest on record for this period. The global ocean surface temperature for the same period was 0.63°C (1.13°F) above the 20th century average, the highest on record for June–August. This beats the previous record set in 2009 by 0.04°C (0.07°F).
The combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for January–August (year-to-date) was 0.68°C (1.22°F) above the 20th century average of 14.0°C (57.3°F), the third highest for this eight-month period on record.
Year-to-date Temperature Comparisons
Temperature anomalies and percentiles are shown on the gridded maps below. The anomaly map on the left is a product of a merged land surface temperature (Global Historical Climatology Network, GHCN) and sea surface temperature (ERSST.v3b) anomaly analysis developed by Smith et al. (2008). Temperature anomalies for land and ocean are analyzed separately and then merged to form the global analysis. For more information, please visit NCDC's Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page. The maps on the right are percentile maps that complement the information provided by the anomaly maps. These provide additional information by placing the temperature anomaly observed for a specific place and time period into historical perspective, showing how the most current month, season, or year compares with the past.
The most current data may be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.
In the atmosphere, 500-millibar height pressure anomalies correlate well with temperatures at the Earth's surface. The average position of the upper-level ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure—depicted by positive and negative 500-millibar height anomalies on the August 2014 and June 2014–August 2014 maps—is generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively.
August 2014 Blended Land and Sea Surface
Temperature Anomalies in degrees Celsius
With records dating back to 1880, the global temperature across the world's land and ocean surfaces for August 2014 was 0.75°C (1.35°F) higher than the 20th century average of 15.6°C (60.1°F). This makes August 2014 the warmest August on record for the globe since records began in 1880, beating the previous record set in 1998. Nine of the 10 warmest Augusts on record have occurred during the 21st century. Additionally, August 2014 marked the 38th consecutive August with a temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average global temperature for August occurred in 1976. The departure from average for the month was also record high for the Northern Hemisphere, at 0.92°C (1.66°F) above average. The Southern Hemisphere temperature was 0.56°C (1.01°F) above average, the fourth highest on record for this part of the world.
Globally, the average land surface temperature was the second highest on record for August behind only 1998, at 0.99°C (1.78°F) above the 20th century average. Warmer than average temperatures were evident over most of the global land surfaces, except for parts of the United States and western Europe, northern Siberia, parts of eastern Asia and much of central Australia stretching north. Overall, 26 countries across every continent except Antarctica had at least one station reporting a record high temperature for August. The United States and the Russian Federation each had stations that reported record warm temperatures as well as at least one station with a record cold temperature for the month. One station in Antarctica also reported a record cold August temperature for its 30-year period of record. The period of record varies by station.
Select national information is highlighted below. (Please note that different countries report anomalies with respect to different base periods. The information provided here is based directly upon these data):
Averaged across the country, Australia was only 0.06°C (0.11°F) above its 1961–1990 average; however, there were some large variations between regions. Western Australia had its fifth highest maximum August temperature on record (10th highest average temperature) while the Northern Territory had its fourth lowest minimum August temperature on record (also fourth lowest average temperature).
Following a record warm July, August was a bit more temperate in Norway, although still warm compared to normal, with a monthly temperature that was 1.0°C (1.8°F) higher than the 1961–1990 long-term average for the country.
The United Kingdom had its coolest August since 1993, with a temperature 1.0°C (1.8°F) below its 1981–2010 average. This ended a streak of eight consecutive warmer-than average months.
August was 1.1°C (2.0°F) cooler than the 1981–2010 average in Austria, marking the country's coolest August since 2006. The high alpine regions were 1.5°C (2.7°F) cooler than average.
The average August temperature for the global oceans was record high for the month, at 0.65°C (1.17°F) above the 20th century average, beating the previous record set in 2005 by 0.08°C (0.14°F). It was also the highest departure from average for any month in the 135-year record, beating the previous record set just two months ago in June 2014 by 0.03°C (0.05°F). Record warmth was observed across much of the central and western equatorial Pacific along with sections scattered across the eastern Pacific and regions of the western Indian Ocean, particularly notable in the waters east of Madagascar. After cooling briefly in July, ocean temperatures in the Niño 3.4 region—the area where ENSO conditions are monitored—began warming once again. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center estimates that there is a 60–65 percent chance that El Niño conditions will develop during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter. This forecast focuses on the ocean surface temperatures between 5°N and 5°S latitude and 170°W to 120°W longitude.
(out of 135 years)
Land +0.99 ± 0.24 +1.78 ± 0.43 Warmest 2nd 1998 +1.03 +1.85
Coolest 134th 1912 -0.75 -1.35
Ocean +0.65 ± 0.05 +1.17 ± 0.09 Warmest 1st 2014 +0.65 +1.17
Coolest 135th 1910, 1911 -0.45 -0.81
Land and Ocean +0.75 ± 0.12 +1.35 ± 0.22 Warmest 1st 2014 +0.75 +1.35
Land +1.07 ± 0.21 +1.93 ± 0.38 Warmest 1st 2010, 2014 +1.07 +1.93
Land +0.80 ± 0.12 +1.44 ± 0.22 Warmest 7th 2009 +1.37 +2.47
Ocean +0.51 ± 0.06 +0.92 ± 0.11 Warmest 4th 1998 +0.57 +1.03
Coolest 132nd 1911 -0.48 -0.86
Land and Ocean +0.56 ± 0.06 +1.01 ± 0.11 Warmest 4th 2009 +0.67 +1.21
August Global Land and Ocean plot
August Global Hemisphere plot
The most current data August be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.
Seasonal (June–August)
June 2014–August 2014 Blended Land and Sea Surface
June–August 2014, at 0.71°C (1.28°F) higher than the 20th century average, was the warmest such period across global land and ocean surfaces since record keeping began in 1880, edging out the previous record set in 1998. The global ocean temperature was a major contributor to the global average, as its departure from average for the period was also highest on record, at 0.63°C (1.13°F) above average. The average temperature across land surfaces was not far behind, at fifth highest for June–August. Regionally, the Northern Hemisphere temperature across land and oceans combined was also record high for its summer season, while the Southern Hemisphere temperature was fourth highest for its winter season.
Winter (June–August) was warmer than average for Australia; however, while the maximum temperature was 0.68°C (1.22°F) above average, the minimum temperature was 0.14°C (0.25°F) below average, making for a greater-than-average daily temperature range. The highest maximum temperature anomalies were observed in the states of Tasmania (second highest on record) and Western Australia (tied for third highest on record). The Northern Territory had below-average winter maximum and minimum temperatures, with the average temperature tying as the 33rd coolest winter temperature in its 105-year period of record.
Summer 2014 was 0.2°C (0.4°F) higher than the 1981–2010 average for Austria, but it also marked the coolest June–August for the country since 2005. The north and east were 0.4–0.7°C (0.7–1.3°F) above average while most other regions were near average.
The summer temperature for Norway was 1.9°C (3.4°F) above its 1961–1990 average. Western Norway, Trøndelag, and Nordland saw temperatues 2–3°C (4–5°F) above their long-term averages.
Summer in Denmark was 1.6°C (2.9°F) warmer than its 1961–1990 average and 0.4°C (0.7°F) warmer than the more recent 2001–2010 average. The second highest July temperature on record contributed to the summer warmth.
June–August
Coolest 131st 1885 -0.58 -1.04
June–August Global Land and Ocean plot
June–August Global Hemisphere plot
Year-to-date (January–August)
January–August 2014 Blended Land and Sea Surface
The first eight months of 2014 (January–August) were the third warmest such period on record across the world's land and ocean surfaces, with an average temperature that was 0.68°C (1.22°F) above the 20th century average of 57.3°F (14.0°C). If 2014 maintains this temperature departure from average for the remainder of the year, it will be the warmest year on record.
The average global sea surface temperature tied with 2010 as the second highest for January–August in the 135-year period of record, behind 1998, while the average land surface temperature was the fifth highest.
January–August
Coolest 131st 1885, 1893 -0.68 -1.22
Ocean +0.55 ± 0.05 +0.99 ± 0.09 Warmest 2nd 1998 +0.57 +1.03
Land and Ocean +0.68 ± 0.11 +1.22 ± 0.20 Warmest 3rd 1998, 2010 +0.70 +1.26
Coolest 133rd 1911 -0.51 -0.92
Land and Ocean +0.79 ± 0.17 +1.42 ± 0.31 Warmest 2nd 2010 +0.81 +1.46
Land and Ocean +0.57 ± 0.07 +1.03 ± 0.13 Warmest 3rd 1998 +0.66 +1.19
January–August Global Land and Ocean plot
January–August Global Hemisphere plot
The maps below represent precipitation percent of normal (left) and precipitation percentiles (right) based on the GHCN dataset of land surface stations using a base period of 1961–1990. As is typical, August precipitation anomalies varied significantly around the world. As indicated by the August precipitation percentiles map below, extreme wetness was observed across part of the central United States, parts of northern Europe, central Siberia, Japan, and eastern Australia. Much of Japan received heavy rainfall from Typhoons Nakri and Halong during the first half of the month. Extreme dryness was scattered across small regions of each of the major continents.
August was wet across Japan. Western Japan received 301 percent of its average precipitation, making this its wettest Ausgust since national records began in 1946. Typhoons Halong and Nakri, along with fronts and moist air flow, contributed to this extreme wetness."
The cooler-than-average August temperatures in the U.K. were accompanied by wet conditions. August tied as the seventh wettest such period since national records began in 1910, thanks in part to ex-Hurricane Bertha passing over the UK on the 10th and 11th. Northern Scotland was record wet.
Latvia reported its fifth wettest August on record and second wettest for the 21st century, with 178 percent of the country's long-term average precipitation.
August 2014 Land-Only Precipitation
Percent of Normal
August 2014 Land-Only Precipitation Percentiles
The maps below represent precipitation percent of normal (left) and precipitation percentiles (right) based on the GHCN dataset of land surface stations using a base period of 1961–1990. As is typical, precipitation anomalies during June 2014–August 2014 varied significantly around the world.
According to the India Meteorological Department, the Southwest Monsoon brought just 82 percent of the long-term (1951–2000) average rainfall to the country from June 1 to August 27. All regions were below average. Northwest India received just 66 percent of its average amount for the period, while the South Peninsula was closest to its long-term average among all regions, at 89 percent of average. By the end of August, the monsoon trough was generally near the Himalayan foothills.
In France, even with a drier than average June, total summer (June–August) precipitation was more than 140 percent of average, marking one of the 10 wettest summers since national records began in 1959. It was the wettest July–August period on record.
June 2014 – August 2014 Land-Only Precipitation
June 2014 – August 2014 Land-Only Precipitation Percentiles
Peterson, T.C. and R.S. Vose, 1997: An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network Database. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 78, 2837-2849.
Quayle, R.G., T.C. Peterson, A.N. Basist, and C. S. Godfrey, 1999: An operational near-real-time global temperature index. Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 333-335.
Smith, T.M. and R.W. Reynolds, 2005: A global merged land air and sea surface temperature reconstruction based on historical observations (1880-1997), J. Clim., 18, 2021-2036.
Smith et al., 2008, Improvements to NOAA's Historical Merged Land-Ocean Surface Temperature Analysis (1880-2006), J. Climate., 21, 2283-2293.
Anthropogenic Climate Change, Anthropogenic Global Warming, Atmospheric Greenhouse Gas Levels, Climate Change Denial, Climate Policy, Climate Research, Climate Science, Collapse Of industrial Civilization, Extreme Weather Events, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, NOAA, Pathological Anthropocentricity., Rep. Jim Bridenstine, Secondary Sociopathy, U.S. House Of Representatives
U.S. House Of Representatives Passes Bill Requiring National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration To De-prioritize Climate Change Research
In Uncategorized on April 8, 2014 at 7:03 pm
Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), the bill's sponsor. CREDIT: AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
Oldspeak: "The bill, introduced last June by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), wouldn't require NOAA to stop its climate research entirely, but it would require the agency to "prioritize weather-related activities, including the provision of improved weather data, forecasts, and warnings for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy…It's not particularly surprising that Bridenstine would want a smaller government focus on climate change — he has repeatedly said that he believes it does not exist, despite consensus from 97 percent of the scientific community. Specifically, Bridenstine has said temperature increases have coincided more with "solar activity" than the human-driven increase in heat-trapping gases emitted into the atmosphere…" -Emily Atkin
"Your tax dollars at work, hurtling industrial civilization toward collapse and extinction. i'll just quote Bertrand Russell and let you meditate on the unmitigated ecocidal MADNESS that is the U.S. Political System. " -OSJ
"Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones." -Bertrand Russell
By Emily Atkin @ Climate Progress:
Two days after a U.N. report warned of increased famine, war, and poverty from unmitigated carbon emissions, the Republican-led House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to focus less on studying climate change, and more on predicting storms.
The bill, introduced last June by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), wouldn't require NOAA to stop its climate research entirely, but it would require the agency to "prioritize weather-related activities, including the provision of improved weather data, forecasts, and warnings for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy."
NOAA is a scientific agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, focused on the changing conditions of both the oceans and the atmosphere. It's not a standalone entity, either — NOAA oversees the National Weather Service, the National Ocean Service, and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, among other agencies. Bridenstine's bill would affect NOAA's activities in all of its underlying departments.
It's not particularly surprising that Bridenstine would want a smaller government focus on climate change — he has repeatedly said that he believes it does not exist, despite consensus from 97 percent of the scientific community. Specifically, Bridenstine has said temperature increases have coincided more with "solar activity" than the human-driven increase in heat-trapping gases emitted into the atmosphere.
Bridestine said he hopes that shifting funds to weather forecasting and taking them away from climate change research will "protect lives and property," noting that his home state of Oklahoma was ravaged by severe tornadoes last year.
Scientists are still trying to determine what, if any, impact climate change has on tornadoes, though the link between other forms of extreme weather has been shown time and again. As ClimateProgress' Joe Romm notes, the link between the tornadoes and climate change is scientifically difficult to attribute, though that doesn't mean it should be avoided.
Dr. Kevin Trenberth, former head of the Climate Analysis Section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, explains: "It is irresponsible not to mention climate change in stories that presume to say something about why all these storms and tornadoes are happening. The environment in which all of these storms and the tornadoes are occurring has changed from human influences (global warming). Tornadoes come from thunderstorms in a wind shear environment. … The basic driver of thunderstorms is the instability in the atmosphere."