According to NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for the month of April and for the period from January to April. Additionally, April's average ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for any April and the global land surface temperature was the third warmest on record!
Highlights of the global temperature anomalies:
-The combined April global land and ocean average temperature was the warmest on record at 58.1°, which is about 1.37° above the 20th century average. The previous record was set back in 1998!
- The warmest anomalies during the month of April occurred in southern Asia, northern Africa, the north central and northeastern US, Canada, Europe, and parts of northern Russia. Cooler than average conditions prevailed across Argentian, Mongolia, eastern and southern Russia and most of China.
- This was the 34th consecutive April with average global land and ocean temperatures above the 20th century average. The last April with below average temperatures occurred in 1976!
- The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) did weaken in April, although the temperature anomalies across the equatorial Pacific Ocean remained above 0.9°F. The weakening contributed significantly to the warmth observed in the tropical belt and the warmth of the overall ocean temperature for April. According to the Climate Prediction Center, a transition to ENSO neutral conditions is possible through June with some indications even pointing to a transition to La Nina conditions into the upcoming winter.
Highlights of January-April Global Temperature Anomalies:
- Temperature anomalies for the first four months of the year were very warm over much of the world's surface, especially in Canada, northern Africa, South Asia and a majority of the tropics. Cooler than average conditions prevailed across the higher-latitude southern oceans, the Gulf of Alaska, the western South American Coast, Mongolia, northern China, the southern US, northern Mexico and much of Europe and Russia.
- The Northern Hemisphere land and ocean temperature during January-April 2010 was the third warmest on record. The Southern Hemisphere land and ocean temperature was the second warmest, behind 1998.
- January-April was the 34th consecutive year with above average temperatures. The last January-April with below average temperatures occurred in 1976!
You can find more information by clicking on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's website.
image courtesy: NOAA
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