Global Temperature Analysis – February 2016

February 2016 the warmest ever: NOAA

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces (SST) for February 2016 was the highest for February in the 137-year period of record, at 1.21°C (2.18°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.9°F), surpassing the previous record set in 2015 by 0.33°C (0.59°F).

It also surpassed the all-time monthly record set just two months ago in December 2015 by 0.09°C (0.16°F).

• The six highest monthly temperature departures on record have all occurred in the past six months.
• February 2016 also marks the 10th consecutive month a monthly global temperature record has been broken.

Global Land Temp

The average global temperature across land surfaces was 2.31°C (4.16°F) above the 20th century average of 3.2°C (37.8°F), the highest February temperature on record, surpassing the previous records set in 1998 and 2015 by 0.63°C (1.13°F) and surpassing the all-time single-month record set in March 2008 by 0.43°C (0.77°F).

SST

February’s globally-averaged sea surface temperature was 0.81°C (1.46°F) above the 20th century average of 15.9°C (60.6°F). This was the highest for February on record, surpassing the previous records set in 1998 and 2015 by 0.36°C (0.20°F), and was the sixth highest departure from average among all 1,632 months in the record.

• The nine highest monthly global ocean temperature departures have all occurred in the past nine months (since July 2015).

December–February

The December–February seasonal global temperature was 1.13°C (2.03°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.8°F). This was the highest for December–February in the 1880–2016 record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.29°C (0.52°F). December 2015–February 2016 also marks the highest 3-month departure from average for any 3-month period on record, surpassing the previous record set last month, November 2015–January 2016, by 0.09°C (0.16°F).

• The globally-averaged temperature across land surfaces was also the highest on record for December–February, at 1.93°C (3.47°F) above the 20th century average of 3.2°C (37.8°F). This surpasses the previous record set last year by 0.46°C (0.83°F) and marks the highest 3-month departure from average for any 3-month period on record, surpassing the previous record of November 2015–January 2016 by 0.40°C (0.70°F).

• SST for the period was 0.84°C (1.51°F) above the 20th century average of 15.8°C (60.5°F), the highest for December–February on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2009/10 by 0.22°C (0.40°F).

The first two months of 2016 were the warmest such period on record across the world’s land and ocean surfaces, at 1.13°C (2.03°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.8°F), surpassing the previous record set in 2015 by 0.29°C (0.52°F).

The average SST for the year-to-date was the highest for January–February in the 137-year period of record, at 0.83°C (1.49°F) above average, surpassing the previous record set in 2010 by 0.22°C (0.40°F). The average land surface temperature was also record high, at 1.95°C (3.51°F) above average, surpassing the previous record of 2002 by 0.41°C (0.74°F).

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for February 2016, published online March 2016, retrieved on March 18, 2016 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201602.

Japan Sending Weapons Grade Plutonium to U.S. this Weekend: Activists

Joint Statement by Activists Condemning “Secret” Plutonium Shipment from Japan to U.S.

Japan will send 331kg of weapons-grade plutonium as early as this weekend to the United States, Greenpeace said in a statement.

A shipment of weapons-grade plutonium scheduled to depart the port of Tokai, Ibaraki prefecture this coming weekend highlights the failure, but also the proliferation risks, of the current Japanese nuclear policy, a coalition of five non-governmental organizations warned today. A cargo of 331kg of plutonium will be loaded on to the Pacific Egret, an armed British nuclear transport ship, prior to departure under armed escort to the United States. It will be the largest shipment of separated plutonium since 1.8 tons of plutonium was delivered to Japan by controversial Akatsuki-maru in 1992. The two month voyage to the Joint Base Charleston-Weapons Station will then see the plutonium dumped at the Department of Energy Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, which is responsible for the shipment, has identified that storage in Japan poses a security risk justifying its removal.

“Citizen Nuclear Information Center (Japan); Green Action (Japan); Savannah River Site Watch (U.S.); CORE (England), and Greenpeace, condemn the shipment as a dangerous distraction from the major problem in Japan which is its overall nuclear energy policy, where over 9 tons of plutonium remains stockpiled and there are plans to produce many tons more during the coming decade. The representatives of the five organizations have worked together over the past quarter century against Japan`s plutonium and nuclear fuel cycle program,” said a joint statement.

Two-hundred and thirty six kilograms of the Tokai plutonium was supplied to Japan from the UK, with 2 kilograms from France and the remainder from the U.S. for neutronic testing purposes at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency Fast Critical Assembly facility at Tokai-mura in Ibaraki. The facility has been used as a basis for Japan`s failed fast breeder reactor program, in particular the MONJU reactor. For more than five decades, Japanese nuclear policy has been based on the production and use of plutonium as a nuclear fuel. However, the failure of both its breeder program and plans to use plutonium as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in light water reactors, has led to Japan acquiring the largest stockpile of weapons usable plutonium of any non nuclear weapon state.

Japan’s current stockpile of plutonium is about 46,700kg, of which 9,528kg is located locally, with the balance being stored in France and the UK. About 8kg is required for a nuclear weapon.

“Two reactors, Takahama 3 and 4, owned by Kansai Electric, began operation in January and February 2016 loaded with plutonium MOX fuel, with unit 3 operating with 24 assemblies containing 1,088kg of plutonium and unit 4 with 4 assemblies containing 184kg of plutonium. Unit 4 shutdown due to an electrical failure three days after start up, while unit 3 was forced to shutdown on March 10th following a court order. Both reactors remain shutdown and are subject of a court injunction preventing operation issued by the Otsu district court, Shiga prefecture on March 9th. They are expected to be non operational for many months. Of the 26 reactors under review by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), Ikata-3, Genkai-3 and Tomari-3 are all intended to operate with plutonium MOX fuel,” said the statement.

The U.S. Department of Energy reportedly “has no plans for final disposal of the Japanese plutonium, which will be added to the existing stockpile of 13 tons at the SRS, demonstrating that the shipment is largely a commercial dumping operation to secure funds for the beleaguered weapons material production site near Aiken, South Carolina, as pointed out by Savannah River Site Watch.”

An analysis of Japan’s plutonium program: Nuclear Proliferation in Plain Sight

Related Links

• Another Nuclear Reactor in Japan Leaking Radioactive Water  February 21, 2016

Crop Disasters Declared in Florida, Georgia

Extreme weather and climatic disasters destroy at least 30% of crops in 30 counties across two states

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated a total of 20 counties in Florida as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that occurred from Jan. 3, 2016, through Jan. 29, 2016. Those counties are:

• Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, and St. Lucie.

USDA has also designated a total of 10 counties in Georgia as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain that occurred from Sept. 15, 2015, through Dec. 22, 2015.  Those counties are:

• Burke, Emanuel, Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Johnson, McDuffie, Richmond, Warren, Washington.

All counties listed above were designated crop disaster areas on March 16, 2016.

Previous Disaster Designations – 2016:

• Multiple Crop Disasters Declared in Nine U.S. States March 4, 2016

• Multiple Crop Disasters Hit Eight U.S. States February 29, 2016
• Crop Disasters Declared in Montana February 25, 2016
• Crop Disasters Declared in the U.S. States of North Carolina and Virginia February 11, 2016

• Crop Disasters Declared in Two U.S. States February 5, 2016
• Extreme Weather Events Destroy Crops in Georgia & the Carolinas January 24, 2016
• Multiple Crop Disasters Declared in Three U.S. States January 9, 2016
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index