Global Climate Report - February 2020
2020 year-to-date temperatures versus previous years

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• 2020 year-to-date temperatures versus previous years
• Global Annual Temperature Rankings Outlook
• Monthly temperature anomalies versus El Niño
• Mean Monthly Temperature Records Across the Globe

2020 year-to-date temperatures versus previous years

Global Year to Date Temperature Anomalies

This graphic compares the year-to-date temperature anomalies for 2020 (black dot) to what were ultimately the ten warmest years on record: 2016 (1st), 2019 (2nd), 2015 (3rd), 2017 (4th), 2018 (5th), 2014 (6th), 2010 (7th), 2013 (8th), 2005 (9th), 1998 (tied as 10th) and 2009 (tied as 10th). Each month along each trace represents the year-to-date average temperature anomaly. In other words, the January value is the January average temperature anomaly, the February value is the average anomaly of both January and February, and so on.

The average global land and ocean surface temperature for January–February 2020 was 1.16°C (2.09°F) above the 20^th century average of 12.1°C (53.8°F). This was the second highest January–February period on record, trailing behind the record set in 2016 by only 0.03°C (0.05°F).

The anomalies themselves represent departures from the 20^th century average temperature. The graph zooms into the warmest part of the entire history.