National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationClimate of 2000 - AugustGlobal Analysis National Climatic Data Center, 15 September 2000 |
 |
|
Contents of This Report: |
Global Temperature |
| As shown in the above figure, global surface temperatures were much above average in August. The combined land and ocean temperature anomaly was +0.44C above the 1880-1999 long-term mean, while ocean temperatures were +0.36C warmer than average. This continues a trend toward overall warmer global temperatures that began in the late 1800's. August global temperatures have increased at a rate of +0.42C per century over the past 120 years. (No land surface temperature time series is provided because station records from some regions of the world were not available at the time of this report.) |
| The spatial distribution of land surface temperature departures from normal (August 2000 minus the 1961-1990 averages) for areas with reporting stations during the month of August are shown in the adjacent plot. Above average temperatures (red dots) were recorded throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, while below average temperatures (blue dots) occurred in only a few isolated areas. |  larger image |
| Temperatures in excess of 3C above average over much of the central United States and the Balkans, while temperatures from 1 to 3C above average were widespread across much of Asia and Japan. Near normal temperatures were observed in China and much of India. Slightly below average temperatures occurred in Alaska, Mexico, Norway, and areas in the Northeastern US. |
MSU Temperature |
 larger image |
Data collected by NOAA's TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites and adjusted for time-dependent biases by NASA and the Global Hydrology and Climate Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville indicate that temperatures in the lower half of the atmosphere (lowest 8 km) were -0.14C below the 20-year (1979-1998) average in August. Temperatures in the Northern Extratropics (90N-20N) remained warmer than average (+0.22C, the 6th warmest August since satellite records began in 1979), while temperatures in the tropics (20N-20S) and Southern Extratropics (20S-90S) were colder than the 20-year average (-0.36C and -0.25C, respectively). |
Global Precipitation |
 larger image |
As shown in the figure to the left, precipitation was below normal throughout many areas of the world. (This plot shows August 2000 precipitation departures as a percent of the 1961-1990 averages.) In the Eastern Hemisphere, drier than average conditions covered much of Europe and the Mediterranean, northern India and scattered areas in the Far East. Above normal precipitation fell across parts of Russia, China, and Turkey. |
| Much above average precipitation also fell throughout parts of South America, including areas of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Conversely, much drier than normal conditions occurred in the northern half of Argentina, as well as much of the central and northwestern U.S.
References:
Peterson, T.C. and R.S. Vose, 1997: An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network Database. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 78, 2837-2849. For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:
Climate Services Division
For questions about this report, please contact:
David Easterling-or- Jay Lawrimore
|
