Use the form below to access monthly reports.
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.
Please Note: Beginning with the July 2009 State of the Climate Report, NCDC will switch to a new version (version 3b) of the extended reconstructed sea surface temperature (ERSST) dataset. ERSST.v3b is an improved extended SST reconstruction over version 2. Most of the improvements are justified by testing with simulated data. The primary difference in version 3b, compared to version 2, is improved low-frequency tuning that increases the sensitivity to data prior to 1930. In ERSST v3b, satellite data was removed from the ERSST product. The addition of satellite data from 1985 to present caused problems for many users. Although the satellite data were corrected with respect to the in situ data, a small residual cold bias remained at high southern latitudes where in situ data were sparse. For more information about the differences between ERSST.v3b and ERSST.v2 please read Summary of Recent Changes in the Land-Ocean Temperature Analyses and Improvements to NOAA's Historical Merged Land-Ocean Surface Temperature Analysis (1880-2006) paper.
Temperature anomalies for June 2009 are shown on the dot maps below. The dot map on the left provides a spatial representation of anomalies calculated from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) dataset of land surface stations using a 1961-1990 base period. The dot map on the right is a product of a merged land surface and sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly analysis developed by Smith and Reynolds (2005). Temperature anomalies with respect to the 1961-1990 average for land and ocean are analyzed separately and then merged to form the global analysis. Additional information on this product is available.
Large portions of each inhabited continent were substantially warmer than average during June 2009. Above-average temperatures were observed across Africa, Australia, eastern Brazil, south central and southeastern contiguous U.S., Alaska's panhandle, western Alaska, western Canada, and most of Europe and Asia. The most notable warmer-than-average temperatures were recorded across parts of Africa and most of Eurasia, where temperatures were 3°C (5°F) or more above average. Cooler-than-average conditions were present across Scandinavia, parts of the southwestern U.S. to the Northern Plains, the northeastern U.S., the Canadian Prairie Provinces, southern South America, central Asia, and across the boundary of northeastern China and southeastern Russia.
Sea surface temperatures during June 2009 were warmer than average across much of the world's oceans, with the exception of cooler-than-average conditions across the southern oceans. The global ocean SST for June 2009 was the warmest on record, 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20th century average of 16.4°C (61.5°F). This broke the previous June record set in 2005. Sea surface temperature anomalies in all Niño regions continued to warm during June 2009, where the monthly temperatures were more than 0.5°C (0.9°F) above average. If El Niño conditions continue to mature as projected by NOAA, global temperatures are likely to continue to threaten previous record highs. Please see the June 2009 ENSO discussion for additional information.
The January-June 2009 map of temperature anomalies shows the presence of warmer-than-average conditions across much of the world's land areas, with the exception of cooler-than-average temperatures across Canada. Sea surface temperatures were warmer than average across the North Indian and western Pacific oceans, and most of the Atlantic Ocean. Cooler-than-average SSTs were present across the central equatorial Pacific Ocean, along the western coasts of North America and northwestern Africa, and across most of the southern oceans.
The average 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 June 2009 map, respectively) are generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively. For other Global products, please see the Climate Monitoring Global Products page.
Images of sea surface temperature conditions are available for all weeks during 2009 from the weekly SST page.
The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the second warmest on record in June, behind 2005, and tied with 2004 as the fifth warmest on record for the year-to-date (January-June) period. The global ocean had the warmest June on record. The ranks found in the tables below are based on records that began in 1880.
| June | Anomaly | Rank (out of 130 years) |
Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record |
|---|---|---|---|
GlobalLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.70°C (+1.26°F) +0.59°C (+1.06°F) +0.62°C (+1.12°F) |
6thwarmest warmest 2nd warmest |
2005 (+0.95°C/1.71°F) 2005 (+0.53°C/0.95°F) 2005 (+0.64°C/1.15°F) |
Northern HemisphereLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.72°C (+1.30°F) +0.65°C (+1.17°F) +0.67°C (+1.21°F) |
7th warmest warmest 3rd warmest |
2006 (+1.13°C/2.03°F) 2005 (+0.62°C/1.12°F) 2006 (+0.74°C/1.33°F) |
Southern HemisphereLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.63°C (+1.13°F) +0.55°C (+0.99°F) +0.56°C (+1.01°F) |
5th warmest warmest warmest |
2005 (+1.12°C/2.02°F) 1998 (+0.51°C/0.92°F) 2005 (+0.55°C/0.99°F) |
| January- June |
Anomaly | Rank (out of 130 years) |
Warmest Year on Record |
|---|---|---|---|
GlobalLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.85°C (+1.53°F) +0.44°C (+0.79°F) +0.55°C (+0.99°F) |
5th warmest 6th warmest 5th warmest |
2007 (+1.16°C/2.09°F) 1998 (+0.53°C/0.95°F) 1998 (+0.64°C/1.15°F) |
Northern HemisphereLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.90°C (+1.62°F) +0.40°C (+0.72°F) +0.59°C (+1.06°F) |
9th warmest 7th warmest 6th warmest |
2007 (+1.36°C/2.45°F) 2005 (+0.51°C/0.92°F) 2007 (+0.79°C/1.42°F) |
Southern HemisphereLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.67°C (+1.21°F) +0.48°C (+0.86°F) +0.51°C (+0.92°F) |
4th warmest 3rd warmest 4th warmest |
2005 (+0.95°C/1.71°F) 1998 (+0.56°C/1.01°F) 1998 (+0.60°C/1.08°F) |
The most current data may be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.
The maps below represent anomaly values based on the GHCN dataset of land surface stations using a base period of 1961-1990. During June 2009, above-average precipitation fell over areas that included central and northeastern Europe, southeastern Australia, parts of central Russia, eastern Asia, northern Brazil, and most of the northern half of the contiguous United States. The driest anomalies occurred across India, southeastern Asia, northern South America, southeastern and south central contiguous U.S., and parts of the western Pacific Islands.
Notable precipitation extremes during June 2009 include the heavy downpours that fell over central Europe, triggering mudslides, producing floods, and prompting rivers to burst their banks. According to reports, this was central Europe's worst natural disaster since the 2002 floods that claimed 17 lives and caused nearly $3 billion in repair costs.
India and its surrounding countries had well-below-average precipitation during June 2009, mainly due to the late arrival of the monsoon (the monsoon typically arrives about June 1st). According to India's Press Information Bureau, the country as a whole received a total of 102.9 mm (4.1 inches) of rain during June 1st to July 2nd, which is 43 percent below its long term average. The monsoon rains are crucial for the region's farming sector.
Additional details on flooding and drought can also be found on the June 2009 Global Hazards page.
As shown in the adjacent animation, SST continued to warm across the equatorial Pacific during June 2009, resulting in anomalies greater than 0.5°C (0.9°F) above average in all Niño regions, indicating a transition from neutral-ENSO conditions to El Niño conditions. A comprehensive summary of June 2009 ENSO conditions can be found on the ENSO monitoring page. For the latest advisory on ENSO conditions, please visit 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.
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the June 2009 Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent, which is measured from passive microwave instruments onboard NOAA satellites, was 11.5 million square kilometers (5.6 percent below the 1979–2000 average) and was extremely close to the last two years, just within 30,000 square kilometers of the June extent in 2007 and 2008. This was the fourth lowest June sea ice extent on record. June Arctic sea ice extent has decreased at an average rate of 3.3 percent per decade since 1979.
Meanwhile, the June 2009 Southern Hemisphere sea ice extent was 3.9 percent above the 1979–2000 average. This was the fifth largest sea ice extent in June. Southern Hemisphere sea ice extent for June has increased at an average rate of 1.1 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).
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 (artificialities caused by changes in radiosonde instruments and measurement practices as well as changes in satellite instruments and orbital features through time). Global averages from radiosonde data are available from 1958 to present, while satellite measurements date back to 1979.
These temperatures are for the lowest 8 km (5 miles) of the atmosphere. Information on the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) sources of troposphere data is available.
| June | Anomaly | Rank (out of 31 years) |
Warmest Year on Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAH low-trop | +0.01°C/+0.02°F | 17th warmest (15th coolest) |
1998 (+0.57°C/+1.03°F) | +0.08°C/decade |
| *RSS low-trop | +0.08°C/+0.14°F | 16th warmest (16th coolest) |
1998 (+0.57°C/+1.02°F) | +0.13°C/decade |
*Version 03_0
| January- June |
Anomaly | Rank (out of 31 years) |
Warmest Year on Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAH low-trop | +0.17°C/+0.31°F | 9th warmest | 1998 (+0.64°C/+1.15°F) | +0.12°C/decade |
| *RSS low-trop | +0.19°C/+0.34°F | 8th warmest | 1998 (+0.66°C/+1.19°F) | +0.15°C/decade |
*Version 03_0
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 Microwave Sounding Unit [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 UAH or 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 University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). An independent analysis is also performed by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) and a third analysis has been performed by Dr. Qiang Fu of the University of Washington (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.
Radiosonde measurements indicate that, for the January-June year-to-date period, temperatures in the mid-troposphere were 0.37°C (0.66°F) above average, resulting in the ninth warmest January-June (out of 52 years) since global radiosonde measurements began in 1958. This was the 16th consecutive January-June period with temperature anomalies warmer than average. Meanwhile, satellite analyses of the January-June year-to-date period for the middle troposphere varied from 14th to 17th warmest in the 31-year satellite record.
For the second year in a row, the global mid-troposphere temperatures were below average during June 2009. As shown in the table below, satellite measurements for June 2009 ranked from 6th coolest to 11th coolest on record.
| June | Anomaly | Rank (out of 31 years) |
Coolest Year on Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAH mid-trop | -0.16°C/-0.29°F | 6th coolest | 1989 (-0.29°C/-0.52°F) | +0.00°C/decade |
| *RSS mid-trop | -0.11°C/-0.20°F | 7th coolest | 1989 (-0.28°C/-0.50°F) | +0.06°C/decade |
| **UW-UAH mid-trop | -0.12°C/-0.21°F | 10th coolest | 1989 (-0.32°C/-0.58°F) | +0.06°C/decade |
| **UW-*RSS mid-trop | -0.08°C/-0.14°F | 11th coolest | 1989 (-0.30°C/-0.54°F) | +0.11°C/decade |
*Version 03_0
| January- June |
Anomaly | Rank (out of 31 years) |
Warmest Year on Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAH mid-trop | 0.00°C/0.00°F | 17th warmest | 1998 (+0.59°C/+1.06°F) | +0.03°C/decade |
| *RSS mid-trop | +0.04°C/+0.07°F | 15th warmest | 1998 (+0.62°C/+1.12°F) | +0.08°C/decade |
| **UW-UAH mid-trop | +0.09°C/+0.16°F | 14th warmest | 1998 (+0.71°C/+1.28°F) | +0.09°C/decade |
| **UW-*RSS mid-trop | +0.11°C/+0.20°F | 15th warmest | 1998 (+0.73°C/+1.31°F) | +0.13°C/decade |
| RATPAC | +0.37°C/+0.66°F | 9th warmest | 1998 (+0.81°C/+1.47°F) | +0.14°C/decade |
*Version 03_0
Note: RATPAC's rank is based on records that began in 1958 (52 years).
The table below summarizes stratospheric conditions for June 2009. On average, the stratosphere is located approximately 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.
| June | Anomaly | Rank (out of 31 years) |
Coolest Year on Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAH stratosphere | -0.49°C (-0.88°F) | 7th coolest | 1996 (-0.69°C/-1.24°F) |
| *RSS stratosphere | -0.41°C (-0.73°F) | 7th coolest | 1996 (-0.61°C/-1.10°F) |
*Version 03_0
For additional details on precipitation and temperatures in June, see the Global Hazards page.
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.
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
