Newswise — Global trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.13 C per decade
September Temperatures (preliminary)
Global composite temp.: +0.16 C (about 0.29 degrees Fahrenheit) above20-year average for September.
Northern Hemisphere: +0.22 C (about 0.40 degrees Fahrenheit) above 20-yearaverage for September.
Southern Hemisphere: +0.10 C (about 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) above 20-yearaverage for September.
August temperatures (revised):
Global Composite: - 0.01 C below 20-year average
Northern Hemisphere: +0.17 C above 20-year average
Southern Hemisphere: - 0.19 C below 20-year average
(All temperature variations are based on a 20-year average (1979-1998) forthe month reported.)
Notes on data released Oct. 7, 2008:
The La Nina Pacific Ocean cooling event continues to weaken: Temperatures inthe tropics were cooler than seasonal norms for the 12th straight month,although only 0.01 C cooler than the seasonal norm for September, accordingto Dr. John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) atThe University of Alabama in Huntsville.
As part of an ongoing joint project between The University of Alabama inHuntsville, NOAA and NASA, Christy and Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal researchscientist in the ESSC, use data gathered by microwave sounding units on NOAAand NASA satellites to get accurate temperature readings for almost allregions of the Earth. This includes remote desert, ocean and rain forestareas for which reliable climate data are not otherwise available. Thesatellite-based instruments measure the temperature of the atmosphere fromthe surface up to an altitude of about eight kilometers above sea level.
Once the monthly temperature data is collected and processed, it is placedin a "public" computer file for immediate access by atmospheric scientists in the U.S. and abroad.
Neither Spencer nor Christy receives any research support or funding fromoil, coal or industrial companies or organizations, or from any private orspecial interest groups. All of their climate research funding comes fromstate and federal grants or contracts
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