NOAA: 2008 Global Temperature Seventh Warmest for Spring, Eighth Warmest for May

NOAA: Global Temperature Seventh Warmest for Spring, Eighth Warmest for May

June 13, 2008

The combined average global land and ocean surface temperatures for spring (March-May) ranked seventh warmest, while May was the eighth warmest since worldwide records began in 1880 according to an analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Spring (March-May) Highlights

  • The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for spring 2008 was 0.94 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 56.7 degrees F and ranked seventh warmest based on the 1880-2008 record.
  • The global land surface temperature for spring was 1.87 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 46.4 degrees F and tied with 2000 as third warmest.
  • The global ocean surface temperature for spring was 0.59 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 61.0 degrees F and ranked 10th warmest.

May Highlights

  • For May 2008, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 0.81 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 58.6 degrees F and ranked eighth warmest.
  • The global land surface temperature for May was 1.26 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 52.0 degrees F and ranked seventh warmest.
  • The global ocean surface temperature for May was 0.65 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 61.3 degrees F and ranked 10th warmest.

Other Highlights

  • The extent of spring 2008 snow cover over Eurasia was the lowest on record for any spring in the 42-year historical satellite record. Conversely, North American snow cover extent was slightly above average. For the Northern Hemisphere, spring 2008 was the third least extensive spring snow cover.
Mauna Loa Observatory monthly data: ftp://ftp.cmdl.noaa.gov/ccg/co2/trends/co2_mm_mlo.txt/
Link to NOAA's Mauna Loa page: http://www.mlo.noaa.gov/livedata/livedata.html