Following are highlights from the NOAA August world climate report. A new record for world--or, global--warmth was recorded. The link to the full report, including graphics, is at the conclusion of this summary.--Bryce
The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for August 2015 was 0.88 degrees Celsius (1.58 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average of 15.6 deg C (60.1 deg F) and the highest August in the 136-year record. This value surpassed the previous record set in 2014 by 0.09 deg C (0.16 deg F). Most of the world's surface was substantially warmer than average and, in some locations, record warm during August 2015, contributing to the monthly global record warmth. This was the sixth month in 2015 that has broken its monthly temperature record (February, March, May, June, July, and August). August 2015 tied with January 2007 as the third warmest monthly departure from average for any of the 1,628 months since records began in January 1880, behind February 2015 and March 2015 (+0.89 deg C / +1.60 deg F). Five of the ten largest monthly temperature departures from average occurred in 2015.
The average global land surface temperature for August 2015 was 1.14 deg C (2.05 deg F) above the 20th century average—the highest August value in the 1880–2015 record, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by +0.13 deg C (+0.23 deg F). According to the Land and Ocean Temperature Percentiles map, much-warmer-than-average conditions were present across much of the western contiguous U.S., Mexico, South America, Africa, Europe, and parts of eastern Asia. According to the Land & Ocean Temperature Percentiles map, record warmth was observed across South America and parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. South America, Europe, and Africa experienced their warmest August average temperature since 1910. Near- to much-cooler-than-average conditions were present across Alaska, western Canada, the central contiguous U.S., and western and southeastern Asia.
Select national information is highlighted below. (Please note that different countries report anomalies with respect to different base periods. The information provided here is based directly upon these data):
The August 2015 temperature departure for Germany was 2.8 deg C (5.0 deg F) above the 1981–2010 average—resulting in the second warmest August since 1901, according to Germany's Met Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst).
Much warmer-than-average conditions dominated across much of Argentina during August 2015, with many locations experiencing record temperatures—according to Argentina's Met Service (Servicio Meteorológico Nacional de Argentina). Some locations recorded temperatures as high as 40 deg C (104 deg F).
According to the UK Met Office, the United Kingdom experienced cooler-than-average conditions during August 2015, resulting in a national mean temperature of 14.7 deg C (58.5 deg F), which is 0.2 deg C (0.36 deg F) below the 1981–2010 average.
Spain experienced a warmer-than-average August, with an average temperature of 24.5 deg C (76.1 deg F)—which is 0.5 deg C (0.9 deg F) above the 1981–2010 average.
The average temperature for Denmark for August 2015 was 17.4 deg C (63.3 deg F), which is 1.7 deg C (3.1 deg F) above the 1961–1990 average and the warmest August since 2009, according to Denmark's Met Service (DMI).
Australia, as a whole, had a warmer-than-average August at 0.61 deg C (1.10 deg F) above the 1961–1990 average. However, Tasmania had below-average conditions, resulting in the third lowest temperature departure (-1.27 deg C / -2.29 deg F) since national records began in 1910, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.
Across the oceans, the August 2015 globally-averaged sea surface temperature was 0.78 deg C (1.40 deg F) above the 20th century average—the highest temperature for any month in the 1880–2015 record and surpassing the previous record set in July 2015 by 0.04 deg C (0.07 deg F). According to the Land & Ocean Percentiles map, large portions of the seven seas (where temperature records are available) recorded much-warmer-than-average temperatures, with much of the eastern and equatorial Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and parts of the Atlantic experiencing record warmth.
El Nino conditions were present across the equatorial Pacific Ocean during August 2015. According to analysis by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, sea surface temperatures during August were near or greater than 2 deg C (3.6 deg F) above the 1981–2010 average in the eastern half of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. There is a greater than 90 percent chance that El Nino will continue through Northern Hemisphere winter 2015/16.
Full report: https://goo.gl/…
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