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| As shown in the above figure, global surface temperatures were much above average in July. The combined land and ocean temperature anomaly was +0.33C above the 1880-1999 long-term mean. This was the 7th warmest July since 1880, 0.36C cooler than the record temperature recorded during the later stages of the 1997/1998 warm phase of ENSO (El Nino). July land surface temperatures were the 6th warmest on record (+0.49C above average). With the current cold phase of ENSO (La Nina) weakening in the equatorial Pacific, the average ocean temperature was slightly warmer than in 1999, +0.26C above the long-term mean. |
| The adjacent plot shows the gridded distribution of temperature anomalies for GHCN stations throughout the world with respect to a 1961-1990 base period. Although above average temperatures prevailed across much of the globe, some regions observed cooler than normal July temperatures for the first time in years. |  larger image |
| Average temperatures were more than 3C below normal throughout much of Argentina as several antarctic cold fronts brought record-breaking cold temperatures northward. Slightly cooler than normal temperatures also prevailed across Alaska, the Northeastern U.S., parts of eastern Europe, Russia, and some coastal areas of Australia. Conversely, record-breaking heat covered the Balkans and parts of the Middle East throughout much of the month, where average temperatures exceeded 4C. Mean temperatures more than 4C above normal were also observed in Mongolia and northern China. |
Global Temperature Latitude Bands larger
image |
The cold phase of ENSO (La Nina) continued to influence surface temperatures within the tropics (20N-20S) in July. The average temperature in this latitude band, based on land and ocean surface temperatures, was 0.17C above the 1880-1999 average, 0.55C cooler than during the most recent warm phase of ENSO (El Nino). |
| Temperatures remained anomalously warm in the Northern Extratropics (20N-90N) despite the continuing influence of La Nina. The average temperature was 0.67C above the long-term mean, the second warmest July on record, while temperatures in the Southern Extratropics (20S-90S) were 0.45C above average, the 7th warmest July since 1880. |
MSU Temperature larger image |
Data collected by
NOAA's TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites and adjusted for
time-dependent biases by NASA and the Global Hydrology and
Climate Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville
indicate that temperatures in the lower half of the atmosphere
(lowest 8 km) were -0.09C below the 20 year (1979-1998) average in July. The January through July year-to-date average was also -0.09C below average, the 9th coolest anomaly since measurements began in 1979. |
Global Precipitation larger image |
As shown in the figure to the left, precipitation anomalies varied widely across parts of Asia in July. Western sections of India near Bombay received flooding rains with totals more than 200mm above the 1961-1990 average in July, while southern and eastern areas of the country were much drier than normal. |
| Rainfall was also much above normal in southern Japan with monthly totals in excess of 200mm brought by Typhoon Kirogi. These above normal amounts are in sharp contrast to drier conditions over much of Korea. Elsewhere precipitation anomalies were mostly near normal to slightly above or below the 1961-1990 average. |
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.
For questions on technical or scientific content of this report, please contact:
Ahira Sánchez-Lugo:For general climate monitoring questions, please contact:
CMB.Contact@noaa.govFor climate data orders, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services and Monitoring Division:
NCDC.Orders@noaa.gov
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/index.php
