March Marks Earth’s Second-Highest Temperature Record in Climate Report

Globally, March 2023 was the second warmest in NOAA’s 174-year record. To date (January-March), the Earth’s surface temperature has been the fourth highest on record. According to NCEI’s annual global temperature projections, it is almost certain (>99.0%) that 2023 will rank among the ten warmest years on record and has a 96% chance that it will rank among the top five.

this Monthly summaryDeveloped by scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, it is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides to government, businesses, academia, and the public to support informed decision-making.

In conjunction with the release of the Global Climate Report in January 2023, the NOAA Global Surface Temperature (NOAAGlobalTemp) Dataset version 5.1.0 has been replaced by version 5.0.0. This new edition includes complete global coverage and an extension of the data record in time for an additional 30 years to January 1850. While the anomalies and rank may differ slightly from previously reported, the main conclusions regarding global climate change are very similar to a previous edition. Please NOAA’s FAQ document And web story for additional information.

Monthly global temperature

the March global surface temperature It was 2.23 °F (1.24 °C) above the 20th century average of 54.9 °F (12.7 °C). The past month ranks as the second-warmest March in the 174-year record behind 2016. March 2023 marked the 47th consecutive month and the 529th consecutive month with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th century average. On March 9, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center announced the end of three years of La Niña, as well as a return to neutral El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions likely during the Northern Hemisphere spring and early summer of 2023.

Asia had the second-warmest March on record at 7.34°F (4.08°C) above average. South America and Africa both had the fourth warmest March, while Europe recorded the tenth warmest March on record. Oceania had the 17th warmest March on record, and while North America had a warmer-than-average March, it didn’t even rank in the top 20 warmest on record.

Temperatures were above average across much of Asia, Africa, South America and Antarctica. Parts of eastern North America, Europe, the Arctic and Oceania also experienced warmer-than-average temperatures this month. Ground temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere ranked warmest on record for this month. Sea surface temperatures were above average across most of the northern, western and southwestern Pacific Ocean, central and southern Atlantic Ocean, and western and southern Indian Ocean. Record warm temperatures covered just over 4% of the world’s surface this month.

Temperatures were near cooler than average across most of western and central North America, Iceland and across parts of southeastern Greenland and northern Europe including Scandinavia. Sea surface temperatures were close to average over parts of the eastern North Atlantic, southeastern and central tropical Pacific. Less than 1% of the world’s surface was experiencing a record cold month.

Sea ice and snow cover

worldwide, March 2023 saw the second smallest extent of sea ice in March registered.

The average area of ​​sea ice in the Arctic in March was 5.58 million square miles, about 230,000 square miles below the 1991-2020 average. This marks the sixth smallest range for March in 45 years. According to the National Ice and Snow Data Center, Arctic sea ice will likely reach its maximum extent for the year on March 6 at 5.64 million square miles, which ranks as the fifth-lowest Arctic maximum in the 45-year satellite record. Meanwhile, the extent of Antarctic sea ice in March 2023 was the second lowest on record at 1.08 million square miles, or about 490,000 square miles less than the 1991-2020 average.

According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and analysis by the Rutgers Global Snow Laboratory, the area of ​​snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere during March was 200,000 square miles below the 1991-2020 average. This ranks as the 15th smallest snow cover area in the Northern Hemisphere. The extension was above average for North America and Greenland, which tied 1971 as the fourth largest extent on record. Meanwhile, Eurasia recorded the sixth smallest snow cover volume in March.

global precipitation

Above-average precipitation is observed in March across parts of the western United States, northern and eastern Europe, and northern Asia. Meanwhile, conditions were drier than average across most of southern Alaska, the eastern United States, southern Europe, northern Africa, and eastern China.

Global tropical cyclones

Four named storms occurred around the world in March. All four reached tropical cyclone strength (winds -74 mph), and three of those named storms reached major tropical cyclone strength (winds -111 mph). Although the number of storms was below average, the numbers that reached tropical and tropical cyclone strength were above the March average. Long-lived tropical cyclone Freddy in the southern Indian Ocean set a record for the largest amount of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), an integrated measure of the strength, frequency and duration of tropical storms, of any storm on record.