State of the Climate
Global Analysis
November 2008

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Climatic Data Center

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Global Highlights:

Based on preliminary data, the globally-averaged combined land and sea surface temperature was the fourth warmest on record for November, fifth warmest for boreal fall (September-November) and ninth warmest January-November year-to-date period.
September-November 2008 temperatures were above average in Asia, the western and north-central contiguous U.S., eastern Brazil, most of Australia, Europe, and the southern countries in South America. Cooler-than-average conditions occurred across eastern Europe, southern Alaska, the south-central and southeastern continental U.S., and parts of Mexico.
Precipitation during September-November 2008 was exhibited a high degree of global variability. It was above average across Iceland, central Russia, southern India, parts of the central and northeastern continental U.S., Europe, eastern Asia, and eastern and central Australia. Drier-than-average conditions were observed in the Hawaiian Islands, western Alaska, the northwest, south-central, and southeastern contiguous U.S., southeastern Australia, and parts of the western Pacific Islands, the southern countries of South America, Europe, and East Asia.
El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions were in a neutral phase during November.

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 September-November 2008 and November 2008 are shown on the dot maps below. The 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 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.

November's Land Surface Temperature Anomalies in degree Celsius

November's Land Surface Temperature
Anomalies in degrees Celsius

November's Blended Land and Sea Surface
Temperature Anomalies in degrees Celsius

During November, above-average temperatures were observed across the western half of the contiguous U.S., northern and eastern Australia, and most of Canada, South America, Europe and Asia. Meanwhile, cooler-than-average conditions were present across Spain, Portugal, Mexico, the eastern continental U.S., southern and western Alaska, and western Australia.

November sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were warmer than average in the Atlantic, Indian, and parts of the northwestern and eastern equatorial Pacific oceans. Cooler-than-average conditions were present in parts of the southern oceans, the central equatorial Pacific, and parts of the northeastern Pacific oceans.

September-November Land Surface Temperature Anomalies in degree Celsius

September-November Land Surface Temperature
Anomalies in degrees Celsius

September-November Blended
Land and Sea Surface Temperature
Anomalies in degrees Celsius

During the boreal fall, temperatures were above average in Asia, the western and north-central contiguous U.S., eastern Brazil, most of Australia, Europe, and southern South America. Cooler-than-average conditions occurred across eastern Europe, southern Alaska, the south-central and southeastern continental U.S., and parts of Mexico.

Anomalously warm temperatures covered much of the global land during the first eleven months of the year. January-November 2008 warmer-than-average temperatures occurred in most land areas of the world, with the exception of cooler-than-average conditions across Colombia, parts of Alaska, central Canada, and the Midwestern continental U.S. The sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were warmer than average across the Atlantic, western North Pacific, and most of the Indian oceans. Cooler-than-average SSTs were present across the central equatorial Pacific Ocean and along the western coast of North America and most of the southern oceans.

The mean position of the upper-level ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure (depicted by positive and negative 500-millibar height anomalies on the September-November 2008 map and the November 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 2008 at the weekly SST page.

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Temperature Rankings and Graphics

Current Month / Seasonal / Year-to-date

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).

The January-November year-to-date period ranked as the ninth warmest January-November since records began in 1880 for combined global land and ocean surface temperatures, while the global land surface temperature ranked fifth warmest on record. Meanwhile, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature for boreal fall (September-November) was fifth warmest on record, and the land surface temperature was tied with 2007 as the second warmest on record, behind 2005. As for the month of November, the combined land and ocean surface temperature ranked fourth warmest in the 129-year record.

November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 129 years)	Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+1.17°C (+2.11°F) +0.38°C (+0.68°F) +0.59°C (+1.06°F)	4^th warmest 9^th warmest 4^th warmest	2004 (+1.40°C/2.52°F) 1997 (+0.54°C/0.97°F) 2004 (+0.72°C/1.30°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+1.30°C (+2.34°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F) +0.75°C (+1.35°F)	4^th warmest 7^th warmest 4^th warmest	2001 (+1.74°C/3.13°F) 2006 (+0.66°C/1.19°F) 2004 (+0.97°C/1.75°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.77°C (+1.39°F) +0.35°C (+0.63°F) +0.41°C (+0.74°F)	6^th warmest 11^th warmest 9^th warmest	1990 (+0.93°C/1.67°F) 1997 (+0.55°C/0.99°F) 1997 (+0.58°C/1.04°F)

November's Global Land and Ocean plot

November's Global Hemisphere plot

September-November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 129 years)	Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.96°C (+1.73°F) +0.42°C (+0.76°F) +0.56°C (+1.01°F)	2^nd warmest 7^th warmest 5^th warmest	2005 (+1.16°C/2.09°F) 1997 (+0.54°C/0.97°F) 2005 (+0.64°C/1.15°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+1.01°C (+1.82°F) +0.48°C (+0.86°F) +0.68°C (+1.22°F)	3^rd warmest 6^th warmest 5^th warmest	2005 (+1.29°C/2.32°F) 2006 (+0.64°C/1.15°F) 2005 (+0.83°C/1.49°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.79°C (+1.42°F) +0.37°C (+0.67°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F)	3^rd warmest 9^th warmest 6^th warmest	1997 (+0.88°C/1.58°F) 1997 (+0.55°C/0.99°F) 1997 (+0.60°C/1.08°F)

September-November Global Land and Ocean plot

September-November Global Hemisphere plot

January-November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 129 years)	Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record
Global Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.80°C (+1.44°F) +0.37°C (+0.67°F) +0.48°C (+0.86°F)	5^th warmest 10^th warmest 9^th warmest	2007 (+1.03°C/1.85°F) 1998 (+0.50°C/0.90°F) 2005 (+0.61°C/1.10°F)
Northern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.89°C (+1.60°F) +0.40°C (+0.72°F) +0.59°C (+1.06°F)	4^th warmest 8^th warmest 8^th warmest	2007 (+1.19°C/2.14°F) 2005 (+0.55°C/0.99°F) 2005 (+0.73°C/1.31°F)
Southern Hemisphere Land Ocean Land and Ocean	+0.53°C (+0.95°F) +0.34°C (+0.61°F) +0.37°C (+0.67°F)	6^th warmest 12^th warmest 11^th warmest	2005 (+0.85°C/1.53°F) 1998 (+0.51°C/0.92°F) 1998 (+0.55°C/0.99°F)

January-November Global Land and Ocean plot

January-November Global Hemisphere plot

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 the boreal fall (September-November), above-average precipitation fell over areas that included Iceland, central Russia, southern India, and parts of the central and northeastern continental U.S., Europe, eastern Asia, and eastern and central Australia. Drier-than-average conditions were observed in the Hawaiian Islands, western Alaska, the northwestern, south-central, and southeastern contiguous U.S., southeastern Australia, and parts of the western Pacific Islands, the southern countries of South America, Europe, and East Asia.

During November 2008, above-average precipitation fell over areas of northwestern South America, southeastern Africa, southern India, and southeastern Asia. Drier-than-average conditions were observed across parts of the central and eastern continental U.S., southern Alaska, northeastern and southern parts of South America, and parts of Europe, and eastern Asia.

November's Precipitation Anomalies in Millimeters

September-November Precipitation Anomalies in Millimeters

Torrential rains caused widespread flooding in parts of Vietnam, Ethiopia, northern Venezuela, Brazil, Panama, and the northern Philippines during November. Several million people were displaced and nearly 200 fatalities were reported. Additional details on flooding and drought can also be found on the November Global Hazards page.

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ENSO SST Analysis

First week of November's ENSO condtions Map

Click here for animated loop

Sea surface temperatures (SST) were near average across the equatorial Pacific Ocean during November, with the exception of the central equatorial Pacific where SSTs were 1°C (1.8°F) below average. These conditions are indicative of a neutral ENSO phase (as shown in the adjacent animation of weekly SST anomalies). A comprehensive summary of November 2008 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.

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Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover Extent

Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover
Extent for Boreal November 2008

As shown in the time series to the right, the mean Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent during November 2008 was below average, consistent with anomalously warm conditions that occurred during much of the month across Asia, Europe, Canada, and the U.S. November 2008 snow cover extent for the Northern Hemisphere was the tenth lowest snow cover extent on record. The mean Northern Hemisphere November snow cover extent for the 1967-2008 period of record is 34.0 million square kilometers.

North America Snow Cover
Extent for Boreal November 2008

Snow cover for November 2008 across North America was below average, resulting in the 19th lowest extent since records began in 1967, and it has been below average since 2004. The mean North America November snow cover extent is 13.4 million square kilometers for the 1967-2008 period of record.

Eurasia Snow Cover
Extent for Boreal November 2008

As depicted in the time series to the right, Eurasia's snow cover extent in November was below average and was the 12th lowest extent over the 41-year historical period. On average, Eurasian Boreal November snow cover extent is 20.6 million square kilometers for the 1967-2008 period of record.

Data were provided by the Global Snow Laboratory, Rutgers University.

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Sea Ice Extent

November's Northern Hemisphere
Sea Ice Extent plot

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the November 2008 Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent, which is measured from passive microwave instruments onboard NOAA satellites, was below the 1979-2000 mean. This was the seventh least November sea ice extent (6.0 percent below the 1979-2000 mean) since records began in 1979, but greater than the previous three years. Sea ice extent for November has decreased at a record rate of 4.5 percent per decade since satellite records began in 1979.

November's Southern Hemisphere
Sea Ice Extent plot

Meanwhile, the November 2008 Southern Hemisphere sea ice extent was the seventh largest November sea ice extent (1.99 percent above the 1979-2000 mean) over the 30-year historical period. Sea ice extent for November has increased at a rate of 0.4 percent per decade.

For further information on the Northern and Southern Hemisphere snow and ice conditions, please visit the NSIDC News page, provided by the NOAA's National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

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Troposphere

Temperatures above the Earth's surface are measured within the lower Troposphere, middle Troposphere, and Stratosphere using in-situ balloon-borne instruments (radiosondes) and polar-orbiting satellites (NOAA's TIROS-N). The radiosonde and satellite records have been adjusted to remove time-dependent biases (inhomogeneities caused by changes in radiosonde instruments and measurement practices as well as changes in satellite instruments and orbital features through time).

Lower Troposphere

Current Month / Seasonal / Year-to-date

These temperatures are for the lowest 8 km (5 miles) of the atmosphere. Information on the UAH and RSS sources of troposphere data is available.

November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 30 years)	Warmest [Coolest] (or Next Warmest [Coolest]) Year on Record	Trend
UAH low-trop	+0.25°C/0.45°F	7^th warmest	2005 (+0.40°C/0.72°F)	+0.15°C/decade
*RSS low-trop	+0.22°C/0.39°F	8^th warmest	2003 (+0.37°C/0.66°F)	+0.14°C/decade

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September- November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 30 years)	Warmest [Coolest] (or Next Warmest [Coolest]) Year on Record	Trend
UAH low-trop	+0.19°C/0.34°F	9^th warmest	2005 (+0.38°C/0.68°F)	+0.14°C/decade
*RSS low-trop	+0.20°C/0.35°F	10^th warmest	2003 (+0.40°C/0.72°F)	+0.16°C/decade

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January- November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 30 years)	Warmest [Coolest] (or Next Warmest [Coolest]) Year on Record	Trend
UAH low-trop	+0.04°C/+0.07°F	17^th warmest	1998 (+0.54°C/0.97°F)	+0.13°C/decade
*RSS low-trop	+0.08°C/0.14°F	14^th warmest	1998 (+0.57°C/1.03°F)	+0.16°C/decade

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Mid-Troposphere

Current Month / Seasonal / Year-to-date

These temperatures are for the atmospheric layer centered in the mid-troposphere (approximately 3-10 km (2-6 miles) above the Earth's surface), which also includes a portion of the lower Stratosphere. (The MSU channel used to measure mid-tropospheric temperatures receives about 25 percent of its signal above 10 km (6 miles).) Because the Stratosphere has cooled due to increasing greenhouse gases in the Troposphere and losses of ozone in the Stratosphere, the stratospheric contribution to the tropospheric average, as measured from satellites, may create an artificial component of cooling to the mid-Troposphere temperatures. The University of Washington (UW) versions of the UAH and RSS analyses attempt to remove the stratospheric influence from the mid-troposphere measurements, and as a result the UW versions tend to have a larger warming trend than either the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH) or Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) versions. For additional information, please see NCDC's Microwave Sounding Unit page.

The radiosonde data used in this global analysis were developed using the Lanzante, Klein, Seidel (2003) ("LKS") bias-adjusted dataset and the First Difference Method (Free et al. 2004) (RATPAC). Additional details are available. Satellite data have been adjusted by the Global Hydrology and Climate Center at the UAH. An independent analysis is also performed by RSS and a third analysis has been performed by Dr. Qiang Fu of the UW (Fu et al. 2004)** to remove the influence of the stratosphere on the mid-troposphere value. Global averages from radiosonde data are available from 1958 to present, while satellite measurements began in 1979.

RATPAC January-November plot

RATPAC September-November plot

Radiosonde measurements indicate that for the January-November year-to-date period, temperatures in the mid-Troposphere were 0.21°C (0.37°F) above average, resulting in the seventeenth warmest January-November since global measurements began in 1958. However, as shown in the table below, satellite measurements of the January-November year-to-date period for the middle Troposphere were near or cooler than average, varying from sixth coolest (twenty-fifth warmest) to eleventh coolest (twentieth warmest) on record, based on data going back to 1979.

Similar to January-November year-to-date, radiosonde measurements indicate that temperatures were 0.36°C (0.64°F) above average during the boreal fall, giving September-November a rank of eleventh warmest in the 51-year record. The table below shows that satellite measurements for the boreal fall were also near average to warmer than average, ranking from thirteenth warmest to twentieth warmest in the 30-year satellite record.

The global mid-Troposphere temperatures were near average or warmer than average during November 2008. As shown in the table below, satellite measurement for November 2008 ranked from thirteenth warmest to nineteenth warmest on record.

November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 30 years)	Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record	Trend
UAH mid-trop	0.00°C/0.00°F	19^th warmest	1990 (+0.22°C/0.40°F)	+0.03°C/decade
*RSS mid-trop	+0.01°C/+0.02°F	19^th warmest	2002 (+0.32°C/0.57°F)	+0.07°C/decade
**UW-UAH mid-trop	+0.14°C/+0.25°F	13^th warmest	2005 (+0.30°C/0.54°F)	+0.12°C/decade
*UW-RSS mid-trop	+0.14°C/+0.25°F	15^th warmest	2002 (+0.40°C/0.71°F)	+0.15°C/decade

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September- November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 30 years)	Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record	Trend
UAH mid-trop	-0.005°C/-0.01°F	20^th warmest	1998 (+0.28°C/0.51°F)	+0.06°C/decade
*RSS mid-trop	+0.03°C/+0.05°F	20^th warmest	1998 (+0.34°C/0.61°F)	+0.11°C/decade
**UW-UAH mid-trop	+0.12°C/+0.22°F	13^th warmest	1998 (+0.44°C/0.80°F)	+0.13°C/decade
*UW-RSS mid-trop	+0.14°C/+0.26°F	13^th warmest	1998 (+0.48°C/0.86°F)	+0.18°C/decade
RATPAC	+0.36°C/0.64°F	11^th warmest (out of 51 years)	2006 (+0.76°C/1.37°F)	+0.16°C/decade

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January- November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 30 years)	Warmest [Coolest] (or Next Warmest [Coolest]) Year on Record	Trend
UAH mid-trop	-0.12°C/-0.22°F	25^th warmest (6^th coolest)	1998 (+0.48°C/0.86°F) [1984 (-0.21°C/-0.38°F)]	+0.05°C/decade
*RSS mid-trop	-0.06°C/-0.11°F	22^nd warmest (9^th coolest)	1998 (+0.52°C/0.94°F) [1985 (-0.23°C/-0.41°F)]	+0.09°C/decade
**UW-UAH mid-trop	-0.01°C/-0.02°F	21^st warmest (10^th coolest)	1998 (+0.62°C/1.12°F) [1984 (-0.25°C/-0.44°F)]	+0.11°C/decade
*UW-RSS mid-trop	+0.03°C/+0.05°F	20^th warmest (11^th coolest)	1998 (+0.65°C/1.17°F) [1985 (-0.23°C/-0.41°F)]	+0.16°C/decade
RATPAC	+0.21°C/0.37°F	17^th warmest (out of 51 years)	1998 (+0.75°C/1.36°F)	+0.15°C/decade

*Version 03_0

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Stratosphere

Current Month / Seasonal

The table below summarizes stratospheric conditions for November and September-November 2008. On average, the Stratosphere is located approximately between 16-23 km (10-14 miles) above the Earth's surface. Over the last decade, stratospheric temperatures have been below average in part due to the depletion of ozone. The large positive anomaly in 1982 was caused by the volcanic eruption of El Chichon in Mexico, and the sharp jump in temperature in 1991 was a result of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines. In both cases the temperatures returned to pre-eruption levels within two years.

November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 30 years)	Coolest (or Next Coolest) Year on Record
UAH stratosphere	-0.73°C (-1.31°F)	2^nd coolest	2000 (-0.89°C/-1.60°F)
*RSS stratosphere	-0.72°C (-1.29°F)	3^rd coolest	2000 (-0.90°C/-1.63°F)

*Version 03_0

September- November	Anomaly	Rank (out of 30 years)	Coolest (or Next Coolest) Year on Record
UAH stratosphere	-0.67°C (-1.21°F)	3^rd coolest	2000 (-0.82°C/-1.47°F)
*RSS stratosphere	-0.66°C (-1.20°F)	2^nd coolest	2000 (-0.79°C/-1.42°F)

*Version 03_0

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For additional details on precipitation and temperatures in November, see the Global Hazards page.

References

Christy, John R., R.W. Spencer, and W.D. Braswell, 2000: MSU Tropospheric Temperatures: Dataset Construction and Radiosonde Comparisons. J. of Atmos. and Oceanic Technology, 17, 1153-1170.

Free, M., D.J. Seidel, J.K. Angell, J. Lanzante, I. Durre and T.C. Peterson (2005) Radiosonde Atmospheric Temperature Products for Assessing Climate (RATPAC): A new dataset of large-area anomaly time series, J. Geophys. Res., 10.1029/2005JD006169.

Free, M., J.K. Angell, I. Durre, J. Lanzante, T.C. Peterson and D.J. Seidel(2004), Using first differences to reduce inhomogeneity in radiosonde temperature datasets, J. Climate, 21, 4171-4179.

Fu, Q., C.M. Johanson, S.G. Warren, and D.J. Seidel, 2004: Contribution of stratospheric cooling to satellite-inferred tropospheric temperature trends. Nature, 429, 55-58.

Lanzante, J.R., S.A. Klein, and D.J. Seidel (2003a), Temporal homogenization of monthly radiosonde temperature data. Part I: Methodology, J. Climate, 16, 224-240.

Lanzante, J.R., S.A. Klein, and D.J. Seidel (2003b), Temporal homogenization of monthly radiosonde temperature data. Part II: trends, sensitivities, and MSU comparison, J. Climate, 16, 241 262.

Mears, Carl A., M.C. Schabel, F.J. Wentz, 2003: A Reanalysis of the MSU Channel 2 tropospheric Temperature Record. J. Clim, 16, 3650-3664.

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.

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