UAH Global Temperature Anomaly Down by .12C in February

UAH Global Temperature Update for February 2014: +0.17 deg. C

(Note, my original headline number was unintentionally misleading, using a percentage to illustrate the drop rather that the absolute number. While the calculation was correct, it gave an impression of overall magnitude across the entire scale rather than the month to month change. It has been corrected. – Anthony)

by Dr, Roy Spencer

The Version 5.6 global average lower tropospheric temperature (LT) anomaly for February, 2014 is +0.17 deg. C, down 0.12 deg C from January (click for full size version):

The global, hemispheric, and tropical LT anomalies from the 30-year (1981-2010) average for the last 14 months are:

YR MON GLOBAL NH SH TROPICS

2013 1 +0.497 +0.517 +0.478 +0.386

2013 2 +0.203 +0.372 +0.033 +0.195

2013 3 +0.200 +0.333 +0.067 +0.243

2013 4 +0.114 +0.128 +0.101 +0.165

2013 5 +0.082 +0.180 -0.015 +0.112

2013 6 +0.295 +0.335 +0.255 +0.220

2013 7 +0.173 +0.134 +0.211 +0.074

2013 8 +0.158 +0.111 +0.206 +0.009

2013 9 +0.365 +0.339 +0.390 +0.190

2013 10 +0.290 +0.331 +0.249 +0.031

2013 11 +0.193 +0.160 +0.226 +0.020

2013 12 +0.266 +0.272 +0.260 +0.057

2014 1 +0.291 +0.387 +0.194 -0.028

2014 2 +0.172 +0.325 +0.019 -0.102

Note that most of the cooling was in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere, less in the Northern Hemisphere.

The global image for February should be available in the next day or so here.

Popular monthly data files (these might take a few days to update):

uahncdc_lt_5.6.txt (Lower Troposphere)

uahncdc_mt_5.6.txt (Mid-Troposphere)

uahncdc_ls_5.6.txt (Lower Stratosphere)

===========================================================

Global Temperature Report: February 2014

March 5, 2014  Vol. 23, No. 11

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

February temperatures (preliminary)

Global composite temp.: +0.17 C (about 0.31 degrees Fahrenheit) above

30-year average for February.

Northern Hemisphere: +0.33 C (about 0.59 degrees Fahrenheit) above

30-year average for February.

Southern Hemisphere: +0.02 C (about 0.04 degrees Fahrenheit) above

30-year average for February.

Tropics: -0.10 C (about 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) below 30-year average

for February.

January temperatures (revised):

Global Composite: +0.29 C above 30-year average

Northern Hemisphere: +0.39 C above 30-year average

Southern Hemisphere: +0.19 C above 30-year average

Tropics: -0.03 C below 30-year average

(All temperature anomalies are based on a 30-year average (1981-2010)

for the month reported.)

Notes on data released March 5, 2014:

Warm temperature anomalies in the Arctic during February indicate a

displacement of cold air from that region to other areas, such as from

North America through the North Atlantic into eastern Russia,

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.

Compared to seasonal norms, the coldest place in Earth’s atmosphere in

February was over the southwestern corner of Canada’s Saskatchewan

province near the town of Eston, where temperatures were as much as

4.68 C (about 8.42 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than seasonal norms.

With Arctic air holding sway over much of North America, temperatures

in the Arctic were generally warmer than normal in February. Compared

to seasonal norms, the warmest departure from average in February was

over the Arctic Ocean northeast of Svalbard, a group of islands about

halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Temperatures there were as

much as 6.16 C (11.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than seasonal norms.

Archived color maps of local temperature anomalies are available on-line at:

http://nsstc.uah.edu/climate/

As part of an ongoing joint project between UAHuntsville, NOAA and

NASA, Christy and Dr. Roy Spencer, an ESSC principal scientist, use

data gathered by advanced microwave sounding units on NOAA and NASA

satellites to get accurate temperature readings for almost all regions

of the Earth. This includes remote desert, ocean and rain forest areas

where reliable climate data are not otherwise available.

The satellite-based instruments measure the temperature of the

atmosphere from the surface up to an altitude of about eight

kilometers above sea level. Once the monthly temperature data is

collected and processed, it is placed in a “public” computer file for

immediate access by atmospheric scientists in the U.S. and abroad.

Neither Christy nor Spencer receives any research support or funding

from oil, coal or industrial companies or organizations, or from any

private or special interest groups. All of their climate research

funding comes from federal and state grants or contracts.

— 30 —