January 2018: Earth's 5th Warmest January on Record

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/january-2018-earths-5th-warmest-january-record

Dr. Jeff Masters · February 19, 2018

January 2018 was the planet's fifth warmest January since record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) on Tuesday. NASA also rated January 2018 as the fifth warmest January on record, with the only warmer Januarys being 2016, 2017, 2007 and 2015. Global ocean temperatures during January 2018 were the fifth warmest on record, and global land temperatures were the eighth warmest on record. Global satellite-measured temperatures in January 2018 for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the tenth warmest in the 40-year record, according to the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) and RSS.

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La Niña conditions remained over the equatorial Pacific during the past month, said NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) in its February 8 monthly advisory. They predicted that the current weak La Niña event that began in August 2017 is near its end, with a 55% chance that it will transition to a neutral state during the March – May timeframe.

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Arctic sea ice extent during January 2018 was the lowest in the 39-year satellite record, beating the record set in January 2017, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Near-surface air temperatures (about 2,500 feet above sea level) were unusually high over the Arctic Ocean in January, with nearly all of the region 3 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) or more above average. Antarctic sea ice extent in January 2018 was the second lowest on record, behind the record set in 2017.

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