Global Temperature Trend Update: January 2012

Ronald Bailey | 2.3.2012 9:32 AM

Every month University of Alabama in Huntsville climatologists John Christy and Roy Spencer report the latest global temperature trends from satellite data. Below are the newest data updated through January, 2012.

The 3rd order polynomial fit to the data (courtesy of Excel) is for entertainment purposes only, and should not be construed as having any predictive value whatsoever.

Global climate trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.14 C per decade

January temperatures (preliminary)

Global composite temp.: -0.09 C (about 0.16 degrees Fahrenheit) below 30-year average for January.

Northern Hemisphere: -0.06 C (about 0.11 degrees Fahrenheit) below 30-year average for January.

Southern Hemisphere: -0.13 C (about 0.23 degrees Fahrenheit) below 30-year average for January.

Tropics: -0.13 C (about 0.23 degrees Fahrenheit) below 30-year average for January.

Go here to see the monthly satellite temperature database.

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R C Dean 13 years ago

Still wondering why the 2010 El Nino is labelled.
1. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  Insert "not" where needed.
  1. robc 13 years ago
    
    We had a "2010 not El Nino"?
    1. R C Dean 13 years ago
      
      Apparently, we did.
2. bi 13 years ago
  
  I am a bi, i want to seek a bilover. I am 23 years old,slender,sexy,and beautiful. I am a member of __Datebi.c0M. there are hundred of thousands of open-minded singles & couples looking to explore their bisexuality. Just sign up for free and check me out!
3. lily 13 years ago
  
  My neighbor just met a bisexual man on ---datebi*cOMit's where for men and women looking for bisexual and bi-curious individuals to meet in a friendly and comfortable environment.
  It's a nice place for the people who have the same sexual orientation.
  1. Tacos mmm... 13 years ago
    
    How do you know this? Do you and your neighbor discuss these things often?
    1. The Question of Auban 13 years ago
      
      Lily's neighbor met Steve Smith the sasquatch.
Fluffy 13 years ago

Told ya.

Parochial east coast Americans think this has been a warm year, and it just hasn't been.
1. Ron Bailey 13 years ago
  
  F: Who you callin' "parochial"?
2. annonymous commenter some guy 13 years ago
  
  Global climate reality is weighted by population density. It's a standard scientific technique...
3. Vangel 13 years ago
  
  It has been a warm winter for them. The entire notion of global average temperatures, particularly when expressed in annual terms, is totally useless and without meaning. The AGW alarmists keep ignoring local history and trends by trying to imply a meaning to a constructed number that does not represent reality.
  1. mr simple 13 years ago
    
    It's like commenting on the state of the economy using global gdp trends.
Ohio o3 13 years ago

think I'll ride my bike today. nice sunny day feb 3d is. green grass, apple blossoms, crocuses, robins...beautiful spring day !
1. annonymous commenter some guy 13 years ago
  
  I killed a mosquito the other day. That's a real good sign for the rest of the year.
  1. The Question of Auban 13 years ago
    
    I telling PETA on you!!!
2. European O3 13 years ago
  
  Freezing my ass off over here, mate!
  1. Obama's wind turbines 13 years ago
    
    so our EVILZ plan is working blowing cold air over the artic! wait till my superpac hears this! double haha!
3. mr simple 13 years ago
  
  The groundhog said six more weeks of winter, so you're obviously wrong.
Ohio o4 13 years ago

did ja hear o3 the FDA changed our plant zone same as southern ohio?
1. The Question of Auban 13 years ago
  
  did ja hear that Southern Ohio has a higher elevation than Central Ohio? did ja also hear that elevation can impact climate?
  1. o3 13 years ago
    
    but the north shore aint high like you
    1. The Question of Auban 13 years ago
      
      Is this the best you have?
      1. o3 13 years ago
        
        ran outta coffee
        
        The Question of Auban 13 years ago
        
        Bad news, coffee doesn't grow in Ohio. It either needs to be imported from other countries or shipped over the ocean from Hawaii. It requires evil fossil fuel to get to Ohio.
        
        o3 13 years ago
        
        ok got moar coffee. now, what were u saying?
        
        The Question of Auban 13 years ago
        
        Moar coffee? I have never tried that. What is like like? Is it an Arabica-Robusta blend? I like bold coffees myself. Is this your first time trying moar?
  2. DesigNate 13 years ago
    
    No no Auban, nothing affects the climate except us stupid humans using fossil fuels.
    
    /sarc
lily 13 years ago

My neighbor just met a bisexual man on ---datebi*cOMit's where for men and women looking for bisexual and bi-curious individuals to meet in a friendly and comfortable environment.
It's a nice place for the people who have the same sexual orientation.
1. 13 years ago
  
  Your neighbor is a fag.
WinningTheFuture_WithSalmon 13 years ago

I'm not sure what asset you're diagramming there, but clearly this is a good time to buy.

And, "lily", that's "buy", not "bi".
Joe M 13 years ago

-0.09?C?!

Global Cooling!
1. sarcasmic 13 years ago
  
  No. That's weather.
  
  When it's colder it's weather.
  
  When it's warmer iT's OMFG AGW IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!
2. DesigNate 13 years ago
  
  Both cooling and warming are signs of Global Warming?. There is no escaping the collective.
R C Dean 13 years ago

What might be interesting is a year-over-year chart, comparing this January to January 2011, 2010, etc.
RoboCain 13 years ago

From yesterday, but relevant:

"The idea of Forecast the Facts is to allow moonbats to turn in "deniers," i.e., weathermen with enough integrity not to ask their audience to drink the socialist Kool-Aid. Heretics will then presumably find their jobs targeted by thuggish liberal activists."

http://moonbattery.com/?p=7557
? 13 years ago

My coffee this morning was .09? cooler than baseline, because the kettle whistling annoyed me a couple seconds sooner than it usually does.

I'll probably die today.
1. The Question of Auban 13 years ago
  
  +9999999999999999999
2. DesigNate 13 years ago
  
  Thread winner?
  1. The Question of Auban 13 years ago
    
    Absolutely!
3. ernieyeball 13 years ago
  
  Whistling kettle? Yer not making instant RU?
  
  Add boiling water to some dirt, it will taste a lot better!
John Derp 13 years ago

Like everything else, it just keeps going up and up!

http://www.surfing-anon.tk
TallDave 13 years ago

Thanks for sharing, Ron.

Another blow to Hansen 1988. It's looking worse and worse with every data point.
1. annonymous commenter some guy 13 years ago
  
  I'm sure you can thank Kyoto for that.
TallDave 13 years ago

Also relevant -- sea level on its way back up, though still well below linear trend and certainly not accelerating in the long run.

I wish Hansen would take bets on his prediction of the West Side Highway being underwater soon.
sarcasmic 13 years ago

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....inent.html

Snow falls in Rome for the first time in 26 YEARS as -36c temperatures across eastern Europe send death toll to 150

Capital of Italy usually has moderate temperatures but Colosseum is closed over ice fears
Military on alert in the UK as temperatures drop and heavy snow fall is predicted
Over 11,000 villagers in Serbia remain trapped by heavy snow and blizzards
Temperatures across eastern Europe plummet to -30c amid fears of more deaths
Death toll in Ukraine now stands at 101, with 38 people being killed by cold last night

Global warming's a bitch!
1. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  Dude, didn't you get the memo? Its "climate change" now. For extra unverifiability. Pass it on.
  1. Tman 13 years ago
    
    Yep, CLIMATE CHANGE!!!
    
    Not global warming.
    
    Unseasonably warm? CLIMATE CHANGE!
    
    Unseasonably cold? CLIMATE CHANGE!
    
    Perfectly normal? CLIMATE CHANGE!
    
    Giant solar flare knocking out satellites and causing Auroras to reach Cuba whilst playing hell with the natural thermodynamics of our ecosystem?
    
    CLIMATE...uh.....change?
    1. Joshua Corning 13 years ago
      
      The weather has been way more normal then normal....
      
      Must be climate change.
    2. annonymous commenter some guy 13 years ago
      
      Giant solar flare knocking out satellites and causing Auroras to reach Cuba whilst playing hell with the natural thermodynamics of our ecosystem?
      
      Our carbon emissions are impacting the entire solar system!
yonemoto 13 years ago

why third order?

You could have done a harmonic analysis using fourier methods.
1. Voros McCracken 13 years ago
  
  Because this kind of data is inappropriate for that kind of analysis. It inevitably leads to "over-fitting."
Jumbie 13 years ago

So, for a guy uneducated in this area...

Is bailey being sarcastic with his Excel/polynomial line or is there really no ground for the gently waving black line he inserted?
1. robc 13 years ago
  
  The line is a legitimate fit, but who the fuck knows if its the right fit or not?
  
  I think that is Bailey's point.
2. Joshua Corning 13 years ago
  
  Yes the polynomial line is for entertainment purposes.
  
  and Ron did not make the graph John Christy and Roy Spencer did...so it is thier joke not Ron's.
  
  Ron is simply reprinting it for us.
CE 13 years ago

So, back to average, after three decades of average excursions from average. Got it. (Or is it "I've got it?)
Joshua Corning 13 years ago

Well of course january is colder world wide...

It is winter!!

..

Thank you folks i will be here all week, be sure to tip your waitress.
1. Aussie 13 years ago
  
  Come again, mate?
  1. Joshua Corning 13 years ago
    
    Dude...
    
    ...way to kill the fucking joke.
    1. sarcasmic 13 years ago
      
      Just doing my civic duty.
      
      Here's one for ya:
      
      Q: How many software developers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
      
      A: None. That's a hardware issue.
      1. sarcasmic 13 years ago
        
        Q: How many flies does it take to screw in a light bulb?
        
        A: Two. But nobody knows how they get in there.
        
        EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy 13 years ago
        
        How many Californians?
        
        None, they all screw in hottubs.
2. Joe M 13 years ago
  
  My understanding is that the southern hemisphere has more extreme temperatures because their summer and winter coincide with perihelion and aphelion, respectively, as opposed to ours, which are reversed.
  
  So, I would think the southern hemisphere's season would control the average temperature of the globe, hence, a cooler than average global average during southern hemisphere summer seems even more notable. Of course, I could be missing something in my calculations.
Joshua Corning 13 years ago

Hey look at that, global temperatures in January of 1980 were the same as January of 2012.
????? ?????? 13 years ago

Thanks

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Global Temperature Trend Update: January 2012

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