extremes-202204.png

Introduction

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information calculates the global temperature anomaly every month based on preliminary data generated from authoritative datasets of temperature observations from around the globe. The major dataset, NOAAGlobalTemp version 5, updated in mid-2019, uses comprehensive data collections of increased global area coverage over both land and ocean surfaces. NOAAGlobalTempv5 is a reconstructed dataset, meaning that the entire period of record is recalculated each month with new data. Based on those new calculations, the new historical data can bring about updates to previously reported values. These factors, together, mean that calculations from the past may be superseded by the most recent data and can affect the numbers reported in the monthly climate reports. The most current reconstruction analysis is always considered the most representative and precise of the climate system, and it is publicly available through Climate at a Glance.


Temperature

Temperature anomalies and percentiles are shown on the gridded maps below. The anomaly map on the left is a product of a merged land surface temperature and sea surface temperature anomaly analysis. Temperature anomalies for land and ocean are analyzed separately and then merged to form the global analysis. The percentile map on the right provides additional information by placing the temperature anomaly observed for a specific place and time period into historical perspective, showing how the most current month, season or year compares with the past.

April 2022

The April 2022 global surface temperature was 0.85°C (1.53°F) above the 20th century average and tied with 2010 as the fifth highest for April in the 143-year record. The 10 warmest April months have occurred since 2010, with the years 2014–2022 all ranking among the 10 warmest Aprils on record. This marked the 46th consecutive April and the 448th consecutive month with temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th century average.

global-land-ocean-anomalies-202204.png

During the month, near- to cooler-than-average April temperatures were observed across much of central and northern North America, southern South America, central Europe, southern Africa, as well as central, eastern tropical and southeastern Pacific Ocean. No land or ocean areas had record-cold April temperatures.

Much-warmer-than-average April temperatures were present across southern North America, central South America, northern and eastern Africa, southern Asia, Oceania, and across much of northern, western and southwestern Pacific, much of Indian, and across parts of the Atlantic oceans. Record-high April temperatures were observed across parts of central South America, the Oceania area, southwestern Pacific Ocean, and a large area of southern and southwestern Asia and northeastern Africa. Overall, this was 5.0% of the globe with a record-warm April, which is the seventh-highest for April since 1951.

Asia, as a whole, had its warmest April on record, dating back to 1910, with a temperature departure of +2.62°C (+4.72°F). This was +0.05°C (+0.09°F) higher than the previous record set in 2016.

  • A high-pressure system brought unusually warm temperatures to parts of southern Asia during the last few days in April and into early May. The areas most impacted were India and Pakistan, where daily maximum temperatures were over 40.0°C (104.0°F). Several locations across the region set new maximum and minimum temperature records during this timeframe. According to Pakistan's Meteorological Department, Pakistan's hottest day during the month was April 30 when temperatures soared to 49.0°C (120.2°F) at Jacobabad (Sindh). This was a new maximum temperature record for the station, surpassing the previous record set in 2018 by 1.0°C (1.8°F). Karachi Airport had a minimum temperature of 29.4°C (84.9°F) on April 30, also a new record for the location. According to reports, the extremely high temperatures affected crops and the demand for power was the worst in six years.
  • According to the Times of India, Delhi, India's capital, had a monthly maximum temperature of 40.2°C (104.4°F) — Dehli's second highest April maximum temperature in the location's 72-year record.
  • Pakistan had its warmest April on record, which extends back to 1961, with a temperature departure of 4.05°C (7.29°F) above average. This was 0.9°C (1.7°F) higher than the now-second highest April temperature set in 2010.

April 2022 was Oceania's fifth-warmest April on record with a temperature departure of +1.71°C (+3.08°F). Aprils of 2002, 2005, 2016, 2018 had a higher temperature departure.

  • Australia had an April temperature that was 1.61°C (2.90°F) above the 1961–1990 average — the seventh highest for April in the nation's 113-year record. The national minimum temperature for April 2022 was the third-warmest on record, while the maximum was the ninth-warmest for April. Regionally, Queensland, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory had an April temperature that ranked among the five highest for the month.
  • New Zealand had a warmer-than-average April. Averaged as a whole, New Zealand had a national April temperature of 14.5°C (58.1°F), which is 1.3°C (2.3°F) above the 1981–2010 average. This was New Zealand's warmest April since 2006 and the ninth-warmest April since national records began in 1909. According to NIWA, the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) was in a positive phase, which is associated with high pressure around the nation, which can bring warmer and dry conditions to the region. During April 2022, the SOI had its third-highest April value since records began in 1876. Only Aprils of 1904 and 2011 had a higher value.

Africa's April 2022 temperature tied with 2003 as the ninth-warmest April and South America had its 12th warmest April in the 113-year continental record. Despite Europe having a warmer-than-average April, its temperature departure did not rank among the top 20 warm Aprils. North America had a slightly below-average April temperature and it was its coldest April since 2018.

  • The contiguous U.S. had several states across the central and northwestern tier that had an April temperature that ranked among the 12th-coldest for the month.
April Ranks and Records
AprilAnomalyRank
(out of 143 years)
Records
°C°FYear(s)°C°F
Global
Land+1.45 ± 0.13+2.61 ± 0.23Warmest6th2016+1.95+3.51
Coolest138th1909-0.93-1.67
Ocean+0.63 ± 0.14+1.13 ± 0.25Warmest8th2020+0.83+1.49
Coolest136th1911-0.53-0.95
Land and Ocean+0.85 ± 0.13+1.53 ± 0.23Warmest5th2016+1.12+2.02
Coolest139th1909-0.60-1.08
Ties: 2010
Northern Hemisphere
Land+1.64 ± 0.18+2.95 ± 0.32Warmest6th2016+2.15+3.87
Coolest138th1909-1.06-1.91
Ties: 2017, 2019
Ocean+0.72 ± 0.13+1.30 ± 0.23Warmest8th2020+0.98+1.76
Coolest136th1911-0.50-0.90
Land and Ocean+1.07 ± 0.14+1.93 ± 0.25Warmest5th2016+1.36+2.45
Coolest139th1909-0.72-1.30
Southern Hemisphere
Land+0.96 ± 0.11+1.73 ± 0.20Warmest10th2018+1.58+2.84
Coolest134th1885-0.89-1.60
Ocean+0.58 ± 0.15+1.04 ± 0.27Warmest10th2016+0.77+1.39
Coolest134th1911-0.53-0.95
Land and Ocean+0.64 ± 0.14+1.15 ± 0.25Warmest9th2016+0.88+1.58
Coolest135th1911-0.55-0.99
Ties: 2002
Arctic
Land and Ocean+1.44 ± 0.68+2.59 ± 1.22Warmest23rd2007+3.30+5.94
Coolest121st1884-2.27-4.09

500 mb maps

hgtanomaly-global-202204.png

In the atmosphere, 500-millibar height pressure anomalies correlate well with temperatures at the Earth's surface. 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 April 2022 map—is generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively.


January–April 2022

The January–April global surface temperature was 0.87°C (1.57°F) above the 20th-century average and ranked as the fifth-highest in the 143-year record. The 10 warmest January–Aprils have occurred since 2007, with the last eight years (2015–2022) being the eight warmest on record. According to NCEI's statistical analysis, the year 2022 is very likely to rank among the ten warmest years on record and has a 27.8% chance to rank among the five warmest years on record.

global-land-ocean-anomalies-202201-202204.png

Much-warmer-than-average conditions during January–April were present across much of South America, Asia, Australia, and the Atlantic and Indian oceans, while parts Mexico, Europe, central Africa, and the northern, western, and south-central Pacific Ocean also had much-warmer-than-average conditions. Record-high January–April temperatures were observed across parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and across parts of South America and southern Asia.

Near- to cooler-than-average January–April temperatures were present across much of North America, northern Atlantic Ocean, northern and southern parts of Africa and across central, eastern tropical and southeastern Pacific Ocean. No land or ocean areas had record-cold January–April temperatures.

Regionally, Asia and the Caribbean region had their fourth-warmest January–April period on record, while South America and Oceania had a year-to-date temperature that ranked among the nine-highest since continental records began in 1910. Europe had its 11th-warmest January–April and Africa had its 19th-warmest on record. Despite North America having an above-average January-April period, it was the coldest such period since 2014.

January–April Ranks and Records
January–AprilAnomalyRank
(out of 143 years)
Records
°C°FYear(s)°C°F
Global
Land+1.46 ± 0.14+2.63 ± 0.25Warmest6th2016+2.14+3.85
Coolest138th1893-1.12-2.02
Ocean+0.65 ± 0.16+1.17 ± 0.29Warmest5th2016+0.86+1.55
Coolest139th1904-0.50-0.90
Land and Ocean+0.87 ± 0.16+1.57 ± 0.29Warmest5th2016+1.20+2.16
Coolest139th1904-0.57-1.03
Northern Hemisphere
Land+1.66 ± 0.17+2.99 ± 0.31Warmest6th2016+2.43+4.37
Coolest138th1893-1.33-2.39
Ties: 2007
Ocean+0.77 ± 0.15+1.39 ± 0.27Warmest5th2016+0.96+1.73
Coolest139th1904-0.53-0.95
Ties: 2018
Land and Ocean+1.11 ± 0.15+2.00 ± 0.27Warmest5th2016+1.52+2.74
Coolest139th1893-0.79-1.42
Southern Hemisphere
Land+0.95 ± 0.13+1.71 ± 0.23Warmest10th2016+1.40+2.52
Coolest134th1917-0.85-1.53
Ocean+0.57 ± 0.16+1.03 ± 0.29Warmest8th2016+0.79+1.42
Coolest136th1911-0.52-0.94
Land and Ocean+0.63 ± 0.16+1.13 ± 0.29Warmest8th2016+0.88+1.58
Coolest136th1917-0.55-0.99
Arctic
Land and Ocean+2.04 ± 0.28+3.67 ± 0.50Warmest6th2016+3.32+5.98
Coolest138th1966-2.32-4.18
Ties: 2007

Precipitation

The maps shown below represent precipitation percent of normal (left, using a base period of 1961–1990) and precipitation percentiles (right, using the period of record) based on the GHCN dataset of land surface stations.

April 2022

As is typical, precipitation anomalies during April 2022 varied significantly around the world. Significantly below-average precipitation occurred across Alaska, Canada, southwestern contiguous U.S., central South America, southern and southeastern Europe, southwestern and southeastern Asia, and northwestern Australia. Significantly above-average precipitation occurred across the northern and southeastern contiguous U.S., northern South America, western and across parts of eastern Asia, southern India, as well as parts of southwestern and eastern Australia.

Pakistan had below-average precipitation during the month, resulting in its second driest April since records began in 1961 at 74% below average. Only April 2000 was drier (87% below average).

Colombia had several heavy rain events during the month. Of note, on April 2, the copious rainfall triggered a deadly landslide in the Nariño department (western Colombia). The landslide claimed the lives of at least three people and also blocked roads. Similarly, torrential rain prompted floods and landslides in the department of Antioquia (northwestern Colombia). During late April, the department of Cundinamarca (central Colombia) had several days of heavy rain, once again prompting floods and landslides.

According to Argentina's National Weather Service, during April 3–10, parts of eastern Argentina had heavy rain, with several locations receiving between 40–150 mm (1.6–5.9 inches) daily.

Tropical Storm Megi (also known as Agaton) was a tropical storm that made its first landfall in Calicoan Island, Philippines on April 10, 2022 and a second landfall in Basey the following day. The storm brought torrential rain and strong winds and triggered several deadly landslides. The storm was responsible for over 200 fatalities and at least 25.8 million U.S. dollars in damages.

During April 9–13, 2022, record-breaking heavy rain fell across parts of southeastern South Africa. Several locations in the KwaZulu-Natal province received at least 304mm (12 inches) of rain during a 24-hour period from April 11–12. To put it in perspective, this amount is about four times the monthly normal precipitation for some of these locations and thus, was the highest 24-hour rain totals in 60 years, according to media reports. The city of Durban was one of the most affected with over 300 fatalities due to deadly floods and landslides. The heavy rain was also responsible for destroying homes, bridges and roads. According to reports, this was the deadliest storm on record for South Africa.

Heavy snow fell across South America's Patagonia region during late April, with several locations receiving over 100 cm (39.4 inches) of snow accumulation.

Australia, as a whole, had a wetter-than-average April at 27% above average. Regionally, Queensland and New South Wales had the highest precipitation totals during the month and it was the ninth-wettest April for both regions.

New Zealand had a drier-than-average month, with several locations having their driest April on record. No location had a record or near-record wet April.

Drought

Drought Information based on global drought indicators is available at the Global Drought Information System.

April 2022 was drier than normal across northern and western parts of Europe with some areas warmer than normal. Parts of eastern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula had a wetter-than-normal month. Drier-than-normal conditions continued at the 3- to 9-month time scales, along with above-normal evaporative stress. The European Combined Drought Indicator showed drought in southern, eastern, and northern parts of the continent. Satellite-based indicators reflected widespread low groundwater and dry soil moisture conditions across much of Europe.

April was drier than normal across parts of northern Siberia and from central to south Asia. Above-normal April temperatures contributed to dry conditions by increasing evaporative demand, especially in the southern portions. Drought is especially evident in northern areas at the 1- to 6-month time scales according to the GPCC Global Drought Index and evaporation-based indicators such as the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI). Satellite-based indicators reflected widespread low groundwater, dry soil moisture conditions, and stressed vegetation in Southwest Asia.

April continued a pattern of unusually warm temperatures across India. This prompted the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to show dry conditions across the sub-continent. The SPEI shows dryness extending across India to the Arabian Peninsula at the 1- to 3-month time scales, and persisting over the western portions of this region at longer time scales. The GPCC Global Drought Index indicated drought from western India to Arabia at the 1- to 3-month time scales and satellite-based indicators showed dry soils and low groundwater. It should be noted that April is in the dry season for India when precipitation is normally low; the wet (monsoon) period is generally from June to October.

Some precipitation fell across the Sahel region in Africa during April, but the 3-month SPEI and GPCC Global Drought Indicator maps show dry conditions persisting in parts of the region. Dryness is indicated in East Africa and the equatorial tropical region of the continent on the 1- to 6-month SPEI, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) maps, as well as in satellite-based indicators for vegetative health (VHI), groundwater, and soil moisture. The SPEI shows dryness across much of Africa at the 12-month time scale, although dryness based on the 12-month EDDI and SPI is not as widespread.

Northwestern portions of Australia were dry in April, while other parts were wetter than normal. The SPEI shows dry conditions in the north from the 1- to 12-month time scales, while the EDDI and ESI show dryness across the north, west, and south at 2 to 3 months, and the VHI shows stressed vegetation across much of the continent. These observations are confirmed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology?s soil moisture and 5-month precipitation decile drought analyses.

In South America, dry conditions during April stretched across the continent from Peru to southern Brazil, and were evident in this region at the 1- to 6-month time scales on the SPI, SPEI, ESI, and EDDI maps. The dry conditions are more widespread and intense, including across Chile and southern Argentina, on the 12-month SPEI, SPI, and EDDI maps. The satellite-based indicators show low groundwater and dry soils in these areas. Drought in southern Brazil was confirmed on the Northeast Brazil Drought Monitor.

Satellite-based indicators show low groundwater, dry soils, and unhealthy vegetation in northern Mexico, the western United States, and the southern U.S. Great Plains. Dry conditions are indicated in these areas on the 1- to 3-month ESI and 1- to 12-month SPI and SPEI maps, and in the western U.S. on the 1- to 6-month EDDI maps. The North American Drought Monitor product confirms drought in these areas as well as in parts of the southern Canadian Prairies.

Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP)

The following analysis is based upon the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Interim Climate Data Record. It is provided courtesy of the GPCP Principal Investigator team at the University of Maryland.

La Niña is still the main story for April, and along with the usual seasonal changes, dominates a lot of the discussion of large-scale precipitation anomalies this past month. This La Niña has continued for two whole years, starting around April 2000. This length of La Niña is not that unusual, with El Ninos tending to be less than a year, often followed by a longer La Niña. The current La Niña, however, seemed to develop on its own, not as a rebound from a previous El Nino. The below normal SSTs in the central Pacific Ocean along the Equator associated with the La Niña component of the ENSO phenomenon produce a reaction in the vertical motion and moisture patterns across the tropics that result in fairly reliable precipitation anomaly patterns in the Pacific. The atmospheric response to those vertical motion and precipitation patterns in the deep tropics produce ripples that can be noted far from their origins.

For this April the monthly precipitation pattern (Fig. 1, top panel) shows the ITCZ across the Pacific above the Equator, the sub-tropical dry zones and higher latitude precipitation zones associated with storm tracks. The anomaly maps (Fig. 1, middle and bottom panels) show strong positive and negative features over the Pacific with a negative core near 160°E, just below the Equator, with extensions to the east and southeast. Just to the north a narrow positive anomaly runs east to west across the Pacific, indicating an ITCZ shift to the north, with a bulge in the western Pacific over and to the east of the Philippine Islands. Flooding and landslides occurred during the month in the Philippines associated with this feature. The tropical Indian Ocean is dominated by negative anomalies. These features are evident in the La Niña composite in Fig. 2 in comparison with the repeated anomalies for this April.

However, spring in the Northern Hemisphere tends to be a weak season for ENSO impact and this is case this April with many weaker features in the composite not appearing in this April's anomalies. This is true over Africa, South America and East Asia where the patterns in Fig. 2 don't match. Over North America the match is very mixed, and although the drought in the U.S. southwest continues, La Niña in this season is only a minor contributor, according to the composite.

An intense, pre-monsoon heat wave in northern India and Pakistan was also very dry and is evident in the negative rain anomalies, which are matched in the La Niña composite. Over Australia the eastern half of the country shows rainfall excess with flooding around Sydney and along the northeast coast, somewhat in concert with the composite. In South America non-ENSO influences seem to dominate with a pattern near opposite of the composite, with flooding in Colombia, Venezuela, and in southern Brazil. Over Africa dry conditions in the Horn of Africa and surrounding areas are evident, but with a surplus of rain in South Africa where serious flooding occurred this month. Over North America the southwest U.S. and northern Mexico continued to have precipitation deficits, and this long-term resulting drought led to early season wildfires, especially in northern New Mexico.

Taking a longer look back, over the last two years, we can see how ENSO, in this case the current two-year La Niña, affects global precipitation patterns. Fig. 3 shows the mean anomaly pattern for the two years ending in April 2022 and a composite of La Niña months from 1979–2021 for comparison. A first glance indicates that the negative SST pattern in the central / eastern Pacific is related to an intense rainfall deficit feature in the middle of the equatorial Pacific and there are other plus/minus features located east-west along the Equator and angled features to the northeast (Northern Hemisphere) and southeast (Southern Hemisphere) into higher latitudes. The effect of the current La Niña over a broad swath of our planet is obvious.


References

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Citing This Report

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Monthly Global Climate Report for April 2022, published online May 2022, retrieved on March 19, 2024 from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202204.