NOAA: 2nd Warmest March on Record for Globe
Global Land Surface Temperature Warmest on Record
The average global temperature (land and ocean surface combined) for last
month was the 2nd warmest on record for March, while the average
temperature
for the contiguous U.S. was near average (ranking the 63rd warmest),
according to an analysis by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in
Asheville, N.C.
Global Highlights
The global surface (land and ocean surface) temperature was the 2nd
warmest
on record for March in the 129-year record, 1.28° F (0.71° C) above the
20th
century mean of 54.9° F (12.7° C). The warmest March on record (+1.33°
F/0.74° C) occurred in 2002.
The global land surface temperature was the warmest on record for March,
3.3° F (1.8° C) above the 20th century mean of 40.8° F (5.0° C).
Temperatures more than 8° F above average covered much of the Asian
continent. Two months after the greatest January snow cover extent on
record
on the Eurasian continent, the unusually warm temperatures led to rapid
snow
melt, and March snow cover extent on the Eurasian continent was the lowest
on record.
Although the ocean surface average was only the 13th warmest on record, as
the cooling influence of La Niņa in the tropical Pacific continued, much
warmer than average conditions across large parts of Eurasia helped push
the
global average to a near record high for March.
Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent was the fourth lowest on record for
March, remaining consistent with boreal spring conditions of the past two
decades, in which warming temperatures have contributed to anomalously low
snow cover extent.
Some weakening of La Niņa, the cold phase of the El Niņo-Southern
Oscillation, occurred in March, but moderate La Niņa conditions remained
across the tropical Pacific Ocean.
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