First half of this year saw near-record warmth for the globe
A collage of typical climate and weather-related events: heatwaves, drought, hurricanes, wildfires and changes in sea ice coverage. (Image credit: NOAA)
Earth’s persistent warming trend last month vaulted June 2020 to the third-hottest June on record — a tie with 2015.
Warm temperatures from January-through-June pushed the year to date to second highest in the 141-year climate record, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
Here’s a closer look into NOAA’s latest monthly global climate report:
Climate by the numbers
June 2020
The average global temperature in June was 1.66 degrees F (0.92 of a degree C) above the 20th-century average of 59.9 degrees F (15.5 degrees C), tying with 2015 as the third-highest June temperature in the 141-year record. Only June 2016 and June 2019 were hotter.
Last month was also the 44th-consecutive June and the 426th-consecutive month with temperatures above average. Nine of the 10 warmest Junes have occurred since 2010.
The year to date (YTD) | January through June 2020
The year-to-date average global temperature was 1.93 degrees F (1.07 degrees C) above the 20th-century average. This is just 0.09 of a degree F (0.05 of a degree C) behind the record high set in 2016 for the same YTD.
More notable climate facts and stats
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Arctic sea ice was scant, again: Average Arctic sea ice coverage (extent) for June ranked third smallest on record, 10% below the 1981–2010 average.
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A scorching first six months for some continents and regions: Record-warm YTD temperatures have covered many parts of the globe so far in 2020, including South America, Europe, Asia and the Gulf of Mexico. No land or ocean areas had record-cold YTD temperatures.
More > Access the June climate report and download images from the NOAA NCEI website.
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