Note: The data presented in this report are preliminary. Ranks and anomalies may change as more complete data are received and processed. Effective September 2012, the GHCN-M version 3.2.0 dataset of monthly mean temperature replaced the GHCN-M version 3.1.0 monthly mean temperature dataset. Beginning with the August 2012 Global monthly State of the Climate Report, released on September 17, 2012, GHCN-M version 3.2.0 is used for NCDC climate monitoring activities, including calculation of global land surface temperature anomalies and trends. For more information about this newest version, please see the GHCN-M version 3.2.0 Technical Report.
*The GHCN-M version 3.1.0 Technical Report was revised on September 5, 2012 to accurately reflect the changes incorporated in that version. Previously that report incorrectly included discussion of changes to the Pairwise Homogeneity Algorithm (PHA). Changes to the PHA are included in version 3.2.0 and described in the version 3.2.0 Technical Report. Please see the Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about this update.
Global Highlights:
- Global average combined land and sea surface temperature was
the second warmest on record for April
- Lower tropospheric temperatures were warmer than average
- April temperatures were greater than 4°C (7.2°F)
above average across much of the U.S., Europe and the Russian Far
East
- Above average precipitation was most notable across northern
Brazil and Uruguay, with below average precipitation across much of
Australia and southeast China
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Contents of this Section:
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| The data presented in this report are
preliminary. Ranks and anomalies may change as more complete data
are received and processed. The most current data may be accessed
via the Global Surface
Temperature Anomalies page. |
 Introduction
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Temperature anomalies
calculated from the Global Historical Climatology Network data set
of land
surface stations using a 1961-1990 base period also show the
warmer than average temperatures across Europe, eastern Asia and
much of the United States, with cooler temperatures over central
and western Canada as well as Turkey to Turkmenistan. |
Temperature
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- Based on data available at the time of this report, the global
land and ocean temperature in April 2002 was the second warmest in
the 1880-2002 record, 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the long-term
average
- Temperatures averaged across ocean areas
were second warmest on record globally, or 0.43°C
(0.77°F) above the long-term April mean
- Land
areas were third warmest during April, or 0.94°C
(1.69°F) above the 1880-2001 average which is 0.28°C
(0.50°F) less than in 1998
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- The global average land and ocean temperature for the period
January-April 2002 was 0.70°C (1.26°F) above the
1880-2001 mean, the second warmest such period on record
- Temperatures averaged across land areas were warmest on record
for January-April 2002, or 1.33°C (2.39°F) above
average
- Two of the past four months (January and
March) were
the warmest such months on record (combined land and ocean
temperature)
- Global temperatures have increased at an average rate of
approximately 0.6°C (1°F) per century since 1900, but the
rate of warming during the past 25 years is almost three times
higher
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- Serial monthly global surface temperature departures with
respect to a 1971-2000 mean are shown in the figure to the
right
- The recent return to record or near record temperature
departures is evident, and monthly global temperatures (land and
ocean) have been warmer than the 1971-2000 average for the last 72
consecutive months
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Precipitation
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- During April, much above average precipitation fell across
parts of northern Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentinian Pampas
region
- Drier than average weather prevailed across much of southeast
China, Australia and interior Europe
- Additional regional analysis can be found on the Global
Regional page
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References:
Peterson, T.C. and R.S. Vose, 1997: An Overview of the Global
Historical Climatology Network Database. Bull. Amer. Meteorol.
Soc., 78, 2837-2849.
