No shocker! We all know its been a hot summer, but very few of us have probably realized the true significance of this particular temperature rise.
Graphic courtesy of radiogreenearth.org.
“The global-averaged land surface temperature for June 2012 was the all-time warmest June on record,” said the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which began keeping track in 1880.
Many people still argue that there is no such thing as global warming, but the new data makes a freighting case for it. NOAA also reported that, “The global land surface temperature for June was above the 20th century average. This is the second month in a row that the global land temperature was the warmest on record.”
Along with the land, the oceans are getting hotter too, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. NOAA reported that, “The Northern Hemisphere land and ocean average surface temperature for June 2012 was the all-time warmest June on record.”
The data for just the land in the Northern Hemisphere had its own story to tell. “The Northern Hemisphere average land temperature, where the majority of Earth’s land is located, was record warmest for June. This makes three months – April, May, and June – in which record-high monthly land temperature records were set.”
Most areas experienced much higher-than average monthly temperatures, including most of North America, Eurasia, and northern Africa.
Among the most striking examples of temperature change was the record heat in June experienced in Austria, which is in the upper northern half Europe.
Austria recorded the highest temperature of 99.9°F (37.7°C) on June 30th in two locations – the capital city of Vienna and in German-Altenburg, Nope. The monthly temperature averaged across Austria was the sixth warmest June since national records began 250 years ago, according to data received from NOAA.
Speculating on contributing factors for the rise in global temperatures, NOAA said that, “Following the dissipation of La Nina in April, record warmth over land during May and June and increasing ocean temperature anomalies pushed 2012 near the top warmest status for the first half of the year. The greatest January-June warmth was observed over most of North America, southern Greenland, and most of Russia.”
While NOAA does very little speculating and solely relays scientific data, we can ask ourselves some questions, such as:
- This isn’t the first La Nina we have ever had, so why the record heat?
- Why are we having increasing ocean temperature anomalies?
NOAA does a great job of telling us what is going on, but not such a great job of telling why. We can only speculate about issues of including: greenhouse gases heating up the atmosphere, losses in the ozone layer, and solar radiation.
Reader comments and input are always welcomed!