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Global Analysis - March 2007

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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 fifth warmest on record for March 2007 and second warmest for January-March year-to-date.
March 2007 temperatures were above average in Europe, the contiguous U.S., southeastern Brazil, and most of Asia. Cooler-than-average conditions occurred in Alaska, central Russia, and parts of Canada.
Precipitation during March 2007 was above average in central U.S., northeastern Australia, the western coast of Canada, and parts of Europe. Drier than average conditions were observed in the southeastern U.S., eastern Brazil, and eastern Australia.
ENSO conditions remained in a neutral phase during March.

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 March 2007 are shown on the dot maps below. The dot map, below 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 dot map, below right, is a product of a merged land surface and sea surface temperature anomaly analysis developed by Smith and Reynolds (2005). 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.

Anomalously warm temperatures have covered much of the globe throughout the first three months of the year. The January-March 2007 map of temperature anomalies shows the presence of warmer than average temperatures across all land areas with the exception of cooler than average temperatures in Alaska. Additional information on Alaska temperatures are available on the US National page. Warmer than average Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) occured in the equatorial Pacific, North and South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. Cooler than average conditions were observed in the northeastern Pacific and some areas in the South Pacific.

During March, there were above average temperatures across Europe, the contiguous U.S., Mexico, southeastern Brazil, and most of Asia. Cooler than average temperatures were observed in Alaska, central Russia, and parts of Canada. Warmer than average SSTs occurred in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Indian Ocean, Northwestern Pacific Ocean, and the Niño 4 region. SSTs decreased in the Niño 1+2, 3 and 3.4 regions during the month of March, indicative of neutral ENSO conditions. Please see the latest ENSO discussion for additional 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 March 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 2007 at the weekly SST page.

Temperature Rankings and Graphics

Effective with the February 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).

March 2007 ranked fifth warmest March since global surface records began in 1880 for combined global land and ocean surface temperatures. March land surface temperatures were fourth warmest, while ocean surface temperatures were sixth warmest in the 127-year record. The January - March 2007 land and ocean combined temperature is second warmest on record behind 2002.

Current Month Year-to-date

March	Anomaly	Rank	Warmest Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+1.16°C (+2.09°F) +0.41°C (+0.74°F) +0.61°C (+1.10°F)	4th warmest 6th warmest 5th warmest	1990 (+1.45°C/2.61°F) 1998 (+0.51°C/0.92°F) 2002 (+0.75°C/1.35°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+1.31°C (+2.36°F) +0.45°C (+0.81°F) +0.77°C (+1.39°F)	6th warmest 3rd warmest 5th warmest	1990 (+1.99°C/3.58°F) 2004 (+0.49°C/0.88°F) 1990 (+0.90°C/1.62°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.71°C (+1.28°F) +0.39°C (+0.70°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F)	6th warmest 11th warmest 10th warmest	1988 (+1.60°C/2.88°F) 2002 (+0.56°C/1.01°F) 1988 (+0.63°C/1.13°F)

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January-March	Anomaly	Rank	Warmest Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+1.30°C (+2.34°F) +0.45°C (+0.81°F) +0.68°C (+1.22°F)	2nd warmest 5th warmest 2nd warmest	2002 (+1.50°C/2.70°F) 1998 (+0.53°C/0.95°F) 2002 (+0.73°C/1.31°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+1.53°C (+2.75°F) +0.47°C (+0.85°F) +0.87°C (+1.57°F)	2nd warmest 3rd warmest 2nd warmest	2002 (+1.87°C/3.37°F) 1998 (+0.50°C/0.90°F) 2002 (+0.95°C/1.71°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.62°C (+1.12°F) +0.44°C (+0.79°F) +0.47°C (+0.85°F)	5th warmest 7th warmest 7th warmest	1998 (+0.86°C/1.55°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 March 2007, above average precipitation fell over areas that include the central U.S., northeastern Australia, the western coast of Canada, and parts of Europe. Drier than average conditions were observed in the southeastern U.S., eastern Brazil, and eastern Australia. Additional details on flooding and drought can also be found on the March 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 decreased across the equatorial Pacific Ocean during March with the exception of the far western equatorial Pacific where SST were warmer than average. These conditions reflect the neutral ENSO phase (shown in the adjacent animation of weekly sea surface temperature anomalies). A comprehensive summary of March 2007 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 since 2003 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 March 2007, published online April 2007, retrieved on May 24, 2013 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2007/3.