Environment

Slightly cooler October finally breaks 16-month hot streak

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October 2016 broke the 16-month streak of record-breaking global temperatures, but the news isn't all good
The NOAA has outlined some of the significant climate anomalies for the month of October 2016
NOAA
October 2016 broke the 16-month streak of record-breaking global temperatures, but the news isn't all good

Every month since May 2015 has broken the record for average global temperature recorded that month. Finally, after a 16-month hot streak, October 2016 saw slightly cooler temperatures than those recorded this time last year, thanks largely to the La Niña weather phenomenon. But before climate change skeptics whip out the I-told-you-so's, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) points out that 2016 is still on track to be the warmest year ever recorded.

With a global average temperature of 58.9° F (14.9° C), 2015 still holds the title of warmest October, but the month just passed wasn't too far behind, on 58.4° F (14.7° C). That's 1.31° F (0.76° C) above the 20th century average for the month, meaning it ties with 2003 as the third warmest October on record.

The main cause of the "cool" change, according to the NOAA, is the presence of a weak La Niña, but the news isn't exactly good, as the weather pattern is expected to worsen the dry conditions throughout the southern United States.

"The weak La Niña is likely to contribute to persisting or developing drought across much of the southern US this winter," says Mike Halpert, deputy director of the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

The NOAA has outlined some of the significant climate anomalies for the month of October 2016
NOAA

Despite the slight drop, 2016's year-to-date saw the highest temperatures recorded over both land and sea for that time, at 59.2° F (15.1° C). That's 1.75° F (1° C) above the 20th century average for the January-to-October period, and the highest since records began in 1880. With two months remaining, 2016 is well and truly on track to be one of the (if not, the)hottest years ever recorded.

Things look equally grim at the planet's poles. The Arctic sea ice extent was down 28.5 percent from the average between 1981 and 2010, making it the smallest recorded amount for the month of October. At the other end of the Earth, Antarctic sea ice was 4 percent less than the same period's average, for the second smallest October amount.

Source: NOAA [1], [2]

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8 comments
Jeff J Carlson
so what ? you trust this adjusted data ? really ?
Jeff J Carlson
16 months is weather not climate ...
teddilu
When sea ice in the arctic is gone it's game over. Only then will the climate truly change .. like a drink under the sun will not change temperature that much until the icecubes are gone.. after, it is another story. Then there will be no coming back. Probabily just a few years from now: what used to be climate models and predictions is becoming .. weather. Much faster than predicted.
ChecMate
Why is more ice supposed to be better for us? It seems the Environmentalists won't be happy until we're under another ice age. The earth was 18 degrees warmer than now in the past, with tropical forests in the arctic it has been found, and will cycle warmer and cooler again without our influence, thank you! Also, it has been said that global warming will not necessarily be bad for Canada.
CarlUsick
This is actually quite terrifying. If the temperature changed so drastically that even the best efforts of NOAA couldn't adjust it away, it must be really moving in a downward trend by now. Better put away extra wood for the winter.
ljaques
NOAA data, eh? What they couldn't achieve by diminishing the data input points by removing cooler thermometers, they massaged away with "adjustments". Crikey, after all the scandals and literal tons of conflicting or reverse data as proof against, why do the AGWKers continue their ranting? Everyone in the world is much more aware of the world nowadays, and most are trying to live with a lighter footprint. This is not only good, it's -enough-. Now stop wasting money trying to fix what isn't broken and spend it on technology which would replace the worst of the offenders, like coal fired power plants. I'm not a fan of "clean coal" (kinda like "honest politician" if you ask me), so let's get solar, wave, bird-safe wind, and cleaner micro nuclear power plants going. Mother Nature/GAIA will take care of herself, as she has always done.
Douglas Bennett Rogers
Satellite data doesn't show this temperature rise. Ground based data is more than likely, affected by the encroachment of air conditioning exhausts. This is what causes the "heat island" effect, not the concrete. Adding to this is decreased albedo and increased transpiration from architectural foliage.
Robert in Vancouver
And while they tell us the climate is warming over the past 3 years, NASA says CO2 levels have remained constant over the past 3 years. So if you truly believe what the so-called experts say, you have to believe CO2 levels do not cause global warming. After all, if global warming is happening while CO2 levels are staying constant, it must mean CO2 does not cause global warming.