Temperature Trends

Global Temperature Trend Update—March 2015

Earth's warmest and coldest temperature anomalies in March were both in North America.

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Thermometer
Dreamstime: Meryll

Every month University of Alabama in Huntsville climatologists John Christy and Roy Spencer publish the latest global temperature trend data obtained from NOAA satellites. For the month of March 2015 they report:


Global Temperature Report: March 2015

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

March temperatures (preliminary)

Global composite temp.: +0.26 C (about 0.47 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for March.

Northern Hemisphere: +0.41 C (about 0.74 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for March.

Southern Hemisphere: +0.10 C (about 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for March.

Tropics: +0.08 C (about 0.06 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for March.

(All temperature anomalies are based on a 30-year average (1981-2010) for the month reported.)

SpencerGraphMarch2015
Roy Spencer

Notes on data released April 7, 2015:

March's global temperatures were highlighted by the contrast in the continental U.S., with cold in the east and warmth in the west, a pattern that persisted from January, according to Dr. John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. For the third month in a row, Earth's warmest and coldest temperature anomalies in March were both in North America.

Compared to seasonal norms, the warmest average temperature anomaly on Earth in March was in northern California, south of Modoc National Forest, where the March temperature was 3.80 C (about 6.84 degrees F) warmer than seasonal norms. Compared to seasonal norms, the coolest average temperature on Earth in March was in northeastern Quebec south of the Torngat Mountains, where the average March 2015 temperature was 3.97 C (about 7.15 degrees F) cooler than normal.

Go here for monthly global lower tropospheric satellite temperature trend data since 1979.