Global climate trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.14 C per decade
April temperatures (preliminary)
Global composite temp.: +0.19 C (about 0.34 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for April.
Northern Hemisphere: +0.36 C (about 0.65 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for April.
Southern Hemisphere: +0.02 C (about 0.04 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for April.
Tropics: +0.09 C (about 0.16 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for April.
March temperatures (revised):
Global Composite: +0.17 C above 30-year average
Northern Hemisphere: +0.34 C above 30-year average
Southern Hemisphere: ±0.00 C at 30-year average
Tropics: ±0.00 C at 30-year average
(All temperature anomalies are based on a 30-year average (1981-2010) for the month reported.)
Notes on data released May 6, 2014:
Compared to seasonal norms, the coldest place in Earth's atmosphere in April was over the western Antarctic by the Ross Ice Shelf, where temperatures were as much as 3.32 C (about 6.0 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than seasonal norms, according to Dr. John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Compared to seasonal norms, the warmest departure from average in April was in southeastern Russia near the town of Chita. Temperatures there were as much as 5.69 C (about 10.3 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than seasonal norms.
Archived color maps of local temperature anomalies are available on-line at:
As part of an ongoing joint project between UAH, NOAA and NASA, Christy and Dr. Roy Spencer, an ESSC principal scientist, use data gathered by advanced microwave sounding units on NOAA and NASA satellites to get accurate temperature readings for almost all regions of the Earth. This includes remote desert, ocean and rain forest areas where reliable climate data are not otherwise available.
The satellite-based instruments measure the temperature of the atmosphere from the surface up to an altitude of about eight kilometers above sea level. Once the monthly temperature data is collected and processed, it is placed in a "public" computer file for immediate access by atmospheric scientists in the U.S. and abroad.
Neither Christy nor Spencer receives any research support or funding from oil, coal or industrial companies or organizations, or from any private or special interest groups. All of their climate research funding comes from federal and state grants or contracts.
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