Record High Global Temperature

Global temperature at record high in August, June–August, January–August

Each of global land temperature, SST also highest on record for same periods

The combined average temperature for global land and ocean surfaces (SST) for August 2015 was 0.88°C (1.58°F) above the 20th century average of 15.6°C (60.1°F) and the highest August in the 136-year record, according to the latest State of the Climate Report prepared by NCDC/NOAA.

• August was the sixth month in 2015 that broke the monthly temperature record (February, March, May, June, July, and August).
• August 2015 tied with January 2007 as the third warmest monthly departure from average for any of the 1,628 months since records began in January 1880, behind February 2015 and March 2015 (+0.89°C / +1.60°F).
• Five of the ten largest monthly temperature departures from average have occurred in 2015.

Global land surface temperature for August

The average global land surface temperature for August 2015 was 1.14°C (2.05°F) above the 20th century average—the highest August value in the 1880–2015 record, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by +0.13°C (+0.23°F).

SST for August

The August 2015 globally-averaged SST was 0.78°C (1.40°F) above the 20th century average—the highest temperature for any month in the 1880–2015 record and surpassing the previous record set in July 2015 by 0.04° (0.07°F).

Combined average land temp. and SST (June-August)

Global land and SST temperature for June–August was 0.85°C (1.53°F) above the 20th century average, surpassing the previous record set in 2014 by 0.11°C (0.20°F). June–August 2015 tied with February–April 2015 as the second warmest three-month period temperature departure from average, behind January–March 2015 (+0.86°C / +1.55°F).

• Much of the world’s land surface was much-warmer-than-average.
• Much of South America and parts of the western contiguous U.S. and parts of Africa and Asia experienced record high temperatures.

Global land surface temperature for (June–August)

Average global land surface temperature was 1.10°C (1.98°F) above the 20th century average—the highest for June–August in the 1880–2015 record and topping the previous record set in 2010 by 0.07°C (0.13°F).

SST for (June–August)

The globally-averaged SST for the three-month period was 0.75°C (1.35°F) above the 20th century average and the highest departure from average for the season on record. This value exceeded the previous record set in 2014 by 0.06°C (0.11°F).

• A large swath across the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean and parts of the Indian and Atlantic experienced record warm.
• A patch of much-cooler-than-average temperatures observed across the North Atlantic Ocean.

Global land and SST (January–August period)

Global land and SST temperature during the first eight months of 2015, January–August period, was the highest ever recorded at 0.84°C (1.51°F) above the 20th century average, exceeding the previous record set in 2010 by 0.10°C (0.18°F).

• Much of South America and parts of North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia had record warmth.
• A large portion of the northeastern and equatorial Pacific Ocean observed record warmth.
• Other major basins observed record warmth in some areas.

Global land temperature for January–August 2015 was 1.29°C (2.32°F) above the 20th century average—the highest January–August during 1880–2015 record and topping the previous record set in 2007 by 0.16°C (0.29°F).

SST for the same period was 0.68°C (1.22°F) above the 20th century average and the highest January–August on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2014 by 0.07°C (0.13°F).

Sea ice extent for August 2015

August average Arctic sea ice extent was 1.61 million square kilometers (620,000 square miles), or about 22.3 percent below the 1981–2010 average, making it the fourth smallest August extent since records began in 1979.

Antarctic sea ice extent during August 2015 was 77,700 square kilometers (30,000 square miles), or about 0.5 percent below the 1981–2010 average.

• In contrast, Antarctic sea ice extent has been record/ near-record large in recent years.
• First month since November 2011 that the Antarctic sea ice extent was below average.

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for August 2015, published online September 2015, retrieved on September 18, 2015 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201508.