Environment

2020s kick off with Earth's hottest January on record

2020s kick off with Earth's hottest January on record
Man-made global warming, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has led to the hottest January in 141 years of record-keeping
Man-made global warming, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has led to the hottest January in 141 years of record-keeping
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Man-made global warming, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has led to the hottest January in 141 years of record-keeping
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Man-made global warming, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has led to the hottest January in 141 years of record-keeping

We may have just turned the page on a whole new decade, but it's the same old story so far as the warming climate is concerned. New analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed January 2020 to be the hottest in 141 years of record-keeping, with the four warmest Januaries on record all occurring since 2016.

This exceedingly warm January follows an exceedingly warm 2019, which analysis from all of NOAA, NASA and the World Meteorological Organization determined to be the second warmest year on record. That same analysis confirmed the last decade to be the hottest decade on record, and as we enter a new chapter it appears we're headed for more of the same.

Previously, January of 2016 was the warmest on record, but the latest analysis from NOAA confirms January of 2020 topped this by 0.04 of a degree F (0.02 of a degree C). Across the globe's land and ocean surfaces, temperatures in January were 2.05° F (1.14° C) above the 20th-century average. This makes it the 44th consecutive January that was above the 20th-century average, and the 421st consecutive month with temperatures higher than the 20th-century average overall.

Notably, the January temperatures mark the largest ever departure from average without the presence of an El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, in which warmer waters can drive up global air temperatures.

Also contained in NOAA's January report were some new insights into sea ice coverage at the poles. Arctic sea ice, which continues to decline at alarming rates, was 5.3 percent below the 1981-2010 average. Coverage of Antarctic sea ice, meanwhile, was 9.8 percent below the January average.

Source: NOAA

8 comments
8 comments
Robert in Vancouver
There were record low temps in January 2020 in most of Canada, Northern Europe, and northern US States.

Climate scare mongers seem to use selective bits of data to create stories about record warm weather.
JED
The earth has been warmer than present day 75% of the time over the last 500 MY. The earth has been coming out of one of the cold cycles that occurred 25% of the time for thousands of years. In addition the earth is recovering from a mini ice age that lasted from 1350 AD to 1850 AD and peaked around 1600 AD. THE 20th century average is much cooler and IN NO WAY represents the average of earth’s temperature over the last 500 MY.
Crazyoldranga
Please remember that these temperatures are an AVERAGE. Climate variation on this planet is huge and using an average to try and define how it is changing is ridiculous. Based on 141 years data? A statistician would laugh you out of the room.
buzzclick
I'm on the other side of Canada, and tonight's weather forecast is -23 degrees celsius. There's always gonna be cold spells in different parts of the world but these NOAA readings are global averages, and this time there's no El Nino for an excuse. People won't be motivated to really do anything about it unless their arses get scorched. Meanwhile everyone is obsessed about getting rid of plastic bags and straws and dressing up their local area with plants and trees that will hardly make a difference in the overall scheme of things...but it sure makes them feel good!
bwana4swahili
In western Canada we've had one of coldest January's on record; however, February has been gorgeous. Loving this climate warming trend! Climate change will be a boon for us like it will for Russia and all countries in the far north!
Nobody
When I worked in quality assurance for 31 years, I used to make the statisticians furious when I pointed out to them that much of their data was either corrupted or biased. They seemed to think that the math purified the data. We also had five models that we used for x-ray analyses. Often all five would give a different answer. We always used the answer that fit our preconceived idea of what was right. Statistics is a tool and based on random and representative data which seldom exists in the real world. Worse yet, those that understand how to manipulate the data can easily fool those who believe the results. Models are even worse since they can be designed to prove any desired outcome. Leaving out a critical variable or weighting it improperly can give any desired result.
christopher
@buzzclick - it *is* El Nino - didn't you see the bushfires it caused in Australia, like it usually does?
ljaques
OHMYGODWEREALLGONNADIEAGAINAGAIN! Love those steam pictures shown as pollution to reinforce the OHMYGOD fear track the Climate Alarmists love. Fact: Manmade pollutants are diminishing over the years. Fact: All of mankind is aware of the planet now and most are trying to reduce their footprint upon it. Fact: Nothing mankind does affects our climate to any noticeable degree, so anti-industrial attacks by the Left will also have no effect on the climate (but will effectively destroy civilization). Fact: Some things Nature does affect our climate. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-volcanoes-affect-w/