Global Temperature Trend Update: February 2013—Rapid Cooling

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 February 2013.

Global Temperature Report: February 2013

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

February temperatures (preliminary)

Global composite temp.: +0.18 C (about 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for February.

Northern Hemisphere: +0.37 C (about 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for February.

Southern Hemisphere: -0.02 C (about 0.04 degrees Fahrenheit) below 30-year average for February.

Tropics: +0.17 C (about 0.31 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for February.

Notes on data:

Global average temperature anomalies that jumped almost three tenths of a degree Celsius from December 2013 to January 2013, fell by more than three tenths through February, according to Dr. John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. The cooling was especially pronounced in the Southern hemisphere, where temperatures dropped from 0.45 C (0.81 degrees F) warmer than seasonal norms in January to 0.02 C (about 0.036 F) cooler than seasonal norms in February.

"On monthly time scales, apparently what goes up can come down," Christy said.

Go here to see the monthly satellite data from 1978 to the present.