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Global Analysis - July 2006

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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:

Based on preliminary data, globally averaged combined land and sea surface temperature was third warmest on record for July 2006.
July temperatures were above average in Europe, the United States, and much of South America. Colder-than-average conditions occurred in far western Russia.
Precipitation during July was above average in India, most of southeast Asia and along the U.S. Gulf Coast, with drier-than-average conditions in the majority of eastern Europe, much of Brazil and the U.S. Southeast.
ENSO conditions remained neutral during July.

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

Temperature anomalies for July 2006 are shown on the two maps below. The dot map on the left provides a spatial representation of anomalies calculated from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) data set of land surface stations using a 1961-1990 base period. The map on the right is a product of a merged land surface and sea surface temperature anomaly analysis which is based on data from the GHCN of land temperatures and the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) of Sea-Surface Temperature (SST) data. Temperature anomalies with respect to the 1961-1990 mean for land and ocean are analyzed separately and then merged to form the global analysis. Additional information on this product is available.

During July, there were above average temperatures across the United States, Brazil, Chile, Europe, Siberia and parts of China. Cooler than average temperatures were observed primarily in far western Russia.

During January-July 2006, there were above average temperatures in the majority of North America, China and western Europe. Cooler than average temperatures were observed in Alaska, far eastern Europe, parts of Russia and western Australia.

In January-July and July, warmer than average SSTs occurred in the South Pacific and the North Atlantic. In January-July, cooler than average conditions were observed in the Niño 3.4 region, and the western coast of Australia. In July, cooler than average conditions were observed in the North Pacific and South Atlantic. Please see the latest ENSO discussion for further information.

Current month's Land SurfaceTemperature Dot map

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Current month's blended Land and sea surface Temperature Dot map

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The mean position of upper level ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure (depicted by positive and negative 500 millibar height anomalies on the July, 2006 map) are generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively. For other Global products see the Climate Monitoring Global Products page.

Images of sea surface temperature conditions are available for all weeks during 2006 at the weekly SST page.

Temperature Rankings and Graphics

Effective with the January, 2006 report, NCDC transitioned from the use of the Operational Global Surface Temperature Index (Quayle et al. 1999) to the blended land and ocean dataset developed by Smith and Reynolds (2005). The differences between the two methods are discussed in Smith et al. 2005.

Current Month / Year-to-date

July	Anomaly	Rank	Warmest Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.88°C (+1.58°F) +0.45°C (+0.81°F) +0.56°C (+1.01°F)	3rd warmest 6th warmest 3rd warmest	1998 (+0.98°C/1.76°F) 1998 (+0.55°C/0.99°F) 1998 (+0.67°C/1.21°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.82°C (+1.48°F) +0.53°C (+0.95°F) +0.64°C (+1.15°F)	4th warmest 5th warmest 3rd warmest	1998 (+1.01°C/1.82°F) 2005 (+0.64°C/1.15°F) 2005 (+0.76°C/1.37°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+1.06°C (+1.91°F) +0.38°C (+0.68°F) +0.48°C (+0.86°F)	warmest 8th warmest 2nd warmest	2nd - 1984 (+0.97°C/1.75°F) 1998 (+0.57°C/1.03°F) 1998 (+0.62°C/1.12°F)

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January-July	Anomaly	Rank	Warmest Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.75°C (+1.35°F) +0.42°C (+0.76°F) +0.51°C (+0.92°F)	5th warmest 6th warmest 6th warmest	2002 (+1.05°C/1.89°F) 1998 (+0.53°C/0.95°F) 1998 (+0.65°C/1.17°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.84°C (+1.51°F) +0.41°C (+0.74°F) +0.57°C (+1.03°F)	5th warmest 6th warmest 5th warmest	2002 (+1.21°C/2.18°F) 2005 (+0.53°C/0.95°F) 2002 (+0.72°C/1.30°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.47°C (+0.85°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F) +0.44°C (+0.79°F)	8th warmest 5th warmest 5th warmest	2005 (+0.91°C/1.64°F) 1998 (+0.56°C/1.01°F) 1998 (+0.60°C/1.08°F)

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The most current data may be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.

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Precipitation

The maps below represent anomaly values based on the GHCN data set of land surface stations using a base period of 1961-1990. During July, above average precipitation fell over areas that include Argentina, Chile, India, the majority of Southeast Asia, and in the U.S., the Great Lakes, Gulf Coast and Southwest regions. Heavy rain and flooding occurred in India, Turkey, Chile and across the Korean Peninsula. Below average precipitation was observed in areas including the U.S. Northern Plains, most of Brazil, southern India and much of Europe. Additional details on flooding and drought can also be found on the July Global Hazards page.

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ENSO SST Analysis

Last week of the month's ENSO condtions Map

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Sea Surface Temperatures increased across most of the equatorial Pacific Ocean during July, but ENSO remained in a neutral state (shown in the adjacent animation of weekly sea surface temperature anomalies). A comprehensive summary of July 2006 ENSO conditions can be found on the ENSO monitoring page. For the latest advisory on ENSO conditions go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the CPC ENSO Diagnostic Discussion
Images of sea surface temperature conditions are available for all weeks during 2006 at the weekly SST page

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.

Quayle, R. G., T. C. Peterson, A. N. Basist, and C. S. Godfrey, 1999: An operational near-real-time global temperature index. Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 333-335.

Smith, T. M., and R. W. Reynolds (2005), A global merged land air and sea surface temperature reconstruction based on historical observations (1880-1997), J. Clim., 18, 2021-2036.

Citing This Report

NOAA National Climatic Data Center, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for July 2006, published online August 2006, retrieved on May 21, 2013 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2006/7.