Global Temperature Update

April 18, 2013

March 2013 tied March 2006 as the 10th warmest March since global temperature records began in 1880. The coolest was March 1898.

Annually, 2012 was the 10th warmest year since 1880. Only one year during the 21st Century was warmer than 2012.

"The science is sobering—the global temperature in 2012 was among the hottest since records began in 1880. Make no mistake: without concerted action, the very future of our planet is in peril."

~ Christine Lagarde, Managing Director,
International Monetary Fund
[video][text]

Global Temperature Rankings

Rank	Measure	Month	Temperature (above 20th Century average)
1st	Warmest (in 134 years)	March 2008	+0.80°C
10th	Warmest (in 134 years)	March 2013	+0.58°C
1st	Coolest (in 134 years)	March 1898	-0.65°C

Data and information was retrieved April 18, 2013 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its National Climate Data Center (NCDC) in the USA.

More details about global temperature are available in the State of the Climate reports (Global Analysis) at the NOAA-NCDC website. These reports present preliminary, global data that has been gathered from monitoring stations and leading institutions around the world. The reports include a Global Hazardssection that gives a global update on drought & wildfires, flooding, storms, severe winter weather, and ecosystems impacts. A Snow and Ice section reports on snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and sea ice extent in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

NOTE: Global temperatures set out in the CO2Now graphic (above) are computed from preliminary NOAA estimates of global average temperature for the 20th century and adding the current 20th-century anomaly.

Reference:

NOAA National Climatic Data Center, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for March 2013, published online April 2013, retrieved on March 18, 2013 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/.

More Info from NOAA-NCDC:

NOAA NDCC | State of the Climate Global Analysis | REPORT

NOAA NDCC | Global land and ocean surface temperature anomalies since 1880 | DATA

NOAA NCDC | Q&As about global surface temperature anomalies | QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

State of the Climate Reports:

NOAA NDCC Web: 2010 | 2011 | 2012

NOAA NDCC PDF: 2010 | 2011