18 August 2016
NOAA Data Confirms NASA and Japan: July 2016 was Hottest on Record.
Posted by Dan Satterfield
NOAA has confirmed the NASA data: July 2016 was the hottest July ever. The graph above shows how far we are above the previous hottest year on record. The odds that 2016 will break last year’s record are now over 99%.
From NOAA/NCEI
From NOAA:
For the 15th consecutive month, the global land and ocean temperature departure from average was the highest since global temperature records began in 1880. This marks the longest such streak in NOAA’s 137 years of record keeping. The July 2016 combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces was 0.87°C (1.57°F) above the 20th century average, besting the previous July record set in 2015 by 0.06°C (0.11°F). July 2016 marks the 40th consecutive July with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th century average. The last time July global land and ocean temperatures were below average was in 1976 (-0.09°C / -0.16°F).
July 2016 was the 379th consecutive month with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th century average. The last month with temperatures below the 20th century average was December 1984 (-0.09°C / -0.16°F).
Another visualization of the temperature over the past 130 years from Climate Central based on data from Gavin Schmidt at NASA Goddard.
And in case you missed this on Twitter:
I think J. K. Rowling has a point there. Should we let a certain U.S. Senator know about it?
FYI: Here is January-July across the U.S. (Departure from normal)
My friend Sean Sublette at Climate Central put together some more stats:
The July 2016 combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces was 1.57°F (0.87°C) above the 20th century average.
July 2016 marks the 40th consecutive July with combined land and ocean temperatures above the 20th century average.
July 2016 was the 379th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average.
The highest temperature during July 2016 was recorded in Mitribah, Kuwait when temperatures soared to 126.5°F (52.5°C) on July 22. If this value is verified by the World Meteorological Organization, it would be the highest temperature ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Global year-to-date temperatures through July:
The temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.85°F (1.03°C) above the 20th century average of 56.9°F (13.8°C), highest since record keeping began in 1880.
Every continent on Earth had one of its three warmest January–July periods, with North America, Asia, and Oceania each having its highest January–July average temperature since continental records began in 1910.
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.