Global Temperature Trend Update: Fourth Warmest June In Satellite Record—Prospects for Monster El Nino Fading
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 June 2014.
Global Temperature Report: June 2014
Global climate trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.14 C per decade
June temperatures (preliminary)
Global composite temp.: +0.30 C (about 0.54 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for June.
Northern Hemisphere: +0.32 C (about 0.58 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for June.
Southern Hemisphere: +0.29 C (about 0.52 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for June.
Tropics: +0.51 C (about 0.92 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for June.
Notes on data released July 1, 2014:
June 2014 might have been the fourth warmest June in the 36-year satellite record, but recent changes in the tropical Pacific might indicate the globe isn't going to set any temperature records in upcoming months, 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 global average temperature for June was 0.30 C (about 0.54 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than seasonal norms for the month, warm enough to tie June 2013 for fourth warmest. (The warmest June was in 1998, during the "El Niño of the century." Global average temperatures in June 1998 were 0.51 C [about 0.92 degrees F] warmer than normal.)Early indications that an El Niño Pacific Ocean warming event might be forming faded in June, although the atmosphere typically takes a couple of months to catch up to what is going on in the oceans. In June, the tropical Pacific Ocean did not continue to warm. This doesn't mean a strong El Niño isn't possible, so we shall wait and see.
In general, atmospheric temperatures do not immediately reflect that ocean cooling: The tropical atmosphere saw its second warmest June on record at 0.51 C (about 0.92 F) warmer than normal, as it was still feeling the extra ocean heat from two months ago. In the tropics, the only June warmer was in 1998, at 0.53 C warmer than normal.
Compared to seasonal norms, the coldest place in Earth's atmosphere in June was over the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctic winter temperatures were as much as 5.37 C (about 9.67 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than seasonal norms. Compared to seasonal norms, the warmest departure from average in June was southeast of the southern tip of South America, in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Temperatures there were as much as 2.85 C (about 5.13 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than seasonal norms.
Go here to see maps showing global temperature anomalies.
