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Global Analysis - August 2006

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Global Analysis

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 fourth warmest on record for August and third warmest on record for boreal summer (June - August 2006).
June - August temperatures were above average in much of North America, Europe and Asia. There were no notable areas of colder than average conditions.
Precipitation during June - August was above average in the U.S. Northeast, southern Argentina, and east Asia, with drier than average conditions in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, western Australia, and Scandinavia.
ENSO conditions remained neutral during August.

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 June - August and August 2006 are shown on the dot maps below. The dot maps, below left, provide 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 maps, below right, are products 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 boreal summer, temperatures were above average across the entire globe. There were no notable areas of cooler than average temperatures.

During boreal summer, warmer than average SSTs occurred over the North Atlantic and South Pacific. Cooler than average conditions were observed in the North Pacific and Southern Indian Oceans. Please see the latest ENSO discussion for further information.

Current season's Land Surface Temperature Dot map

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

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During August, there were above average temperatures across much of the United States, Brazil, Scandinavia, the Middle East and Asia. Cooler than average temperatures were observed primarily in Russia, Alaska and the U.S. far Northeast.

During January-August 2006, there were above average temperatures in the majority of North America, China, western Europe, South America and Africa. Cooler than average temperatures were observed in Alaska and western Australia.

In January-August, warmer than average SSTs occurred in the South Pacific, North and South Atlantic and southern Indian Oceans, with cooler than average conditions observed in the North Pacific and off the coast of western Australia. In August, warmer than average SSTs occurred in the North Atlantic and the Niño 1+2 region, with cooler than average conditions observed in the North Pacific and southern Indian Oceans. 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 June - August 2006 map and the August 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 / Seasonal / Year-to-date

August	Anomaly	Rank	Warmest Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.73°C (+1.31°F) +0.47°C (+0.85°F) +0.54°C (+0.97°F)	3rd warmest 5th warmest 4th warmest	1998 (+0.92°C/1.66°F) 1998 (+0.54°C/0.97°F) 1998 (+0.64°C/1.15°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.74°C (+1.33°F) +0.59°C (+1.06°F) +0.64°C (+1.15°F)	4th warmest 4th warmest 3rd warmest	1998 (+0.95°C/1.71°F) 2005 (+0.65°C/1.17°F) 2003 (+0.72°C/1.30°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.69°C (+1.24°F) +0.38°C (+0.68°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F)	13th warmest 7th warmest 7th warmest	1981 (+1.31°C/2.36°F) 1998 (+0.51°C/0.92°F) 1998 (+0.57°C/1.03°F)

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June-August	Anomaly	Rank	Warmest Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.82°C (+1.48°F) +0.46°C (+0.83°F) +0.56°C (+1.01°F)	3rd warmest 5th warmest 3rd warmest	1998 (+0.90°C/1.62°F) 1998 (+0.54°C/0.97°F) 1998 (+0.64°C/1.15°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.87°C (+1.57°F) +0.54°C (+0.97°F) +0.66°C (+1.19°F)	2nd warmest 5th warmest 3rd warmest	1998 (+0.92°C/1.66°F) 2005 (+0.64°C/1.15°F) 2005 (+0.71°C/1.28°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.68°C (+1.22°F) +0.40°C (+0.72°F) +0.44°C (+0.79°F)	4th warmest 7th warmest 4th warmest	2005 (+0.89°C/1.60°F) 1998 (+0.53°C/0.95°F) 1998 (+0.58°C/1.04°F)

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January-August	Anomaly	Rank	Warmest Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.72°C (+1.30°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F) +0.50°C (+0.90°F)	6th warmest 6th warmest 6th warmest	2002 (+1.00°C/1.80°F) 1998 (+0.53°C/0.95°F) 1998 (+0.65°C/1.17°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.80°C (+1.44°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F) +0.57°C (+1.03°F)	7th warmest 5th warmest 5th warmest	2002 (+1.14°C/2.05°F) 2005 (+0.54°C/0.97°F) 2005 (+0.69°C/1.24°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.46°C (+0.83°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F)	8th warmest 5th warmest 6th warmest	2005 (+0.89°C/1.60°F) 1998 (+0.55°C/0.99°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 June - August 2006, above average precipitation fell over areas that include the U.S. Northeast and Gulf Coast, Alaska, southern Argentina, eastern Europe, parts of India and southeast Asia. Heavy rain and flooding occurred in Ethiopia, India, the Phillipines and Thailand. Below average precipitation was observed in areas including the U.S./Canadian border, western Europe, Scandinavia, and western Australia. Additional details on flooding and drought can also be found on the August Global Hazards page.

During August, above average precipitation fell over areas that include the U.S. Great Plains, southern Alaska, eastern Europe and parts of India. Below average precipitation was observed across Scandinavia, parts of the U.S. southern Plains, most of Australia, and much of southeast Asia.

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Precipitation Dot map in Millimeters for August

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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 central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean during August, but ENSO remained in a neutral state (shown in the adjacent animation of weekly sea surface temperature anomalies). A comprehensive summary of August 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 August 2006, published online September 2006, retrieved on May 25, 2013 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2006/8.