TG-FEWW-CM
February 2017 Second Warmest on Record —NOAA
It was the 41st consecutive February and the 386th consecutive month with temperatures exceeding the 20th century average.
The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for February 2017 was 0.98°C (1.76°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.9°F)—the second highest for February in the 138-year period of record, trailing behind the record set in 2016 (+1.20°C / +2.16°F) and ahead of 2015 by +0.10°C (+0.18°F).
February 2017 was the highest monthly temperature departure from average since April 2016 (+1.07°C / +1.93°F) and the seventh highest monthly temperature departure among all months (1646) on record. This was the 41st consecutive February and the 386th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average. The February global land and ocean temperature has increased at an average rate of +0.07°C (+0.13°F) per decade since 1880; however, the average rate of increase is twice as great since 1980.
The average global temperature across land surfaces was 1.78°C (3.20°F) above the 20th century average of 3.2°C (37.8°F) and the second highest February global land temperature on record, trailing behind 2016 by 0.50°C (0.90°F) and ahead of 2015 by 0.09°C (0.16°F).
This was also the highest monthly temperature departure from average since April 2016 (+1.86°C / +3.35°F) and the seventh highest among all months on record.
For the oceans, the February globally-averaged sea surface temperature was 0.69°C (1.24°F) above the 20th century average of 15.9°C (60.6°F), the second highest for February on record, behind the record-breaking year 2016 (+0.80°C / +1.44°F) and surpassing 2015 by +0.08°C (+0.14°F). February 2017 was the highest monthly temperature departure from average since October 2016 (+0.72°C / +1.30°F) and the 22nd highest among all months on record.
The average global sea surface temperature for the year-to-date was also the second highest in the 137-year record, at 0.67°C (1.21°F) above average, behind 2016 by 0.16°C (0.29°F).
The December–February seasonal global land and ocean temperature was 0.89°C (1.60°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.8°F)—the second highest temperature departure from average for December–February in the 1880–2017 record, behind 2015/2016 by 0.23°C (0.41°F).
This was the highest three-month temperature departure since July–September 2016 (+0.89°C / +1.60°F) and tied with May–July 2016, June–August 2016, and July–September 2016 as the tenth highest three-month temperature departure from average since 1880.
The global land and ocean temperature during the three-month period of December–February has increased at an average rate of +0.07°C (+0.13°F) per decade since 1880; however, the average rate of increase is twice as great since 1980.
The globally-averaged temperature across land surfaces for December–February was also the second highest on record for the season, at 1.52°C (2.74°F) above the 20th century average of 3.2°C (37.8°F), behind 2015/2016 by 0.39°C (0.70°F).
This was the highest three-month temperature departure from average since March–May 2016 (1.81°C / 3.26°F) and the eighth highest in the 138-year record.
Across the world’s oceans, the December–February average sea surface temperature was 0.66°C (1.19°F) above the 20th century average of 15.8°C (60.5°F)—the second highest for December–February on record, trailing 2015/2016 by 0.17°C (0.31°F).
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for February 2017, published online March 2017, retrieved on March 18, 2017 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201702.
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