NOAA - May global temperatures 2nd warmest

Posted on June 18, 2012

Month sets new mark for globally-averaged warmth over land surfaces

The globally-averaged temperature for May 2012 marked the second warmest May since record keeping began in 1880. May 2012 also marks the 36^th consecutive May and 327^th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20^th century average.

Most areas of the world experienced much warmer-than-average monthly temperatures, including nearly all of Europe, Asia, northern Africa, most of North America and southern Greenland. Only Australia, Alaska and parts of the western U.S.-Canadian border region were notably cooler than average.

With the dissipation of La Niña in April, ocean conditions in May were "ENSO neutral". According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, there is a 50 percent chance that El Niño conditions will emerge during the second half of 2012.

Global temperature highlights: May

• The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for May was second warmest on record for May, behind 2010, at 59.79°F (15.46°C) or 1.19°F (0.66°C) above the 20^th century average. This was the warmest monthly departure from normal since November 2010. The margin of error associated with this temperature is ±0.13°F (0.07°C).

May 2012 Blended Land & Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in °C
• May marked the 36^th consecutive May and 327^th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20^th century average. The last below-average temperature May was May 1976 and the last below-average temperature month was February 1985.
• The global land surface temperature for May was 2.18°F (1.21°C) above the 20^th century average of 52.0°F (11.1°C), the all-time warmest May on record. The margin of error is ±0.25°F (0.14°C).
• Warmer-than-average monthly temperatures occurred across much of the Northern Hemisphere while cooler-than-average temperatures occurred in parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
• Spain observed its fourth warmest May since national records began in 1960 at 4.9°F (2.7°C) above average.
• The nationally-averaged daytime temperature in Australia was near average (+0.5°C), while the average nighttime temperature was well below average (-2.9°C), ranking as the fifth coolest May nighttime temperature in that country's 63-year period of record.For the ocean, the May global sea surface temperature was 0.81°F (0.45°C) above the 20^th century average of 61.3°F (16.3°C), or 10^th warmest May on record. The margin of error is ±0.07°F (0.04°C).
• Neutral ocean conditions continued during May as sea surface temperatures continued to warm across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, there is a 50 percent chance that El Niño conditions will emerge during the second half of 2012. In addition to influencing seasonal climate outcomes in the United States, El Niño is often, but not always, associated with global temperatures that are higher than temperatures in the neutral and La Niña phases.