“The average temperature of our planet is heating up!”

By Linn Smith

I can attest, being a resident of the western United States, that the summer of 2019 was HOT! In the west records were broken in most states along with the number of days over 90 degrees. In the Northern Hemisphere, June and July of 2019 were the hottest ever recorded, tied with the records of 2016. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), July was 1.71 degrees hotter than the average.

Africa just recorded its hottest months ever and countries in Europe also experienced record highs. The Earth’s oceans recorded highs this summer, about 1.5 degrees F above normal for July. Denver, Colorado had the hottest September on record, with a record breaking 100 degrees, which had never happened before in September.

It’s our responsibility to change.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrative Data

The following information is data taken from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrative( NOAA) website which has the correct data on the record highs this summer (2019):

August 2019: The average global temperature in August was 1.66 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 60.1 degrees, tying it with 2015 and 2017 as the second-hottest August in the 140-year record, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. The hottest August on record was August 2016, and the five hottest Augusts on record have all occurred since 2014.

The global sea surface temperature last month was 1.51°F above the 20th century monthly average of 61.4°F, making it the highest global ocean temperature for August on record.

Temperatures are steadily rising on our planet.

Meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere

June through August 2019 was the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest meteorological summer on record, tied with 2016. The period of June through August, which also marks the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, was the planet’s second hottest in the 140-year record at 1.67 degrees F above the 20th-century average, behind June-August of 2016. The last five June-August periods are the five hottest on record.

The period from January through August produced a global temperature that was 1.69 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 57.3 degrees (for both hemispheres, one being in winter), making it the third hottest January-August period on record after 2016 and 2017.

Coal and Oil Formation

More notable stats and facts

*Sea ice retreats: The August Arctic sea ice coverage was 30.1 percent below average, right behind August 2012’s record-lowest extent. Antarctic sea ice extent was the fifth smallest August extent on record.

*Regional record heat: Europe, Africa and the Hawaiian region had August temperatures that ranked among their three hottest Augusts on record.

*Scorching season for some: Africa had its warmest June–August since records began. South America and Europe had a June–August temperature that ranked among the three-warmest such periods on record.

Is it warming up where you are? The answer is yes. Even though you still have cold days and seasonal changes, the climate average of our planet is heating up!

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/?Set-Language=ar

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