This January Was the Fifth-Warmest on Record Globally Since 1880

But the Earth’s polar regions continued to experience record-low ice conditions for January 2018.

According to a latest report by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), US Department of Commerce, global temperatures ranked among the five warmest on record in January since 1880, while the earth’s polar regions continued to experience record-low ice conditions. This was the fifth highest temperature recorded for January in the 1880-2018 record, with the last four years (2015-2018) seeing the warmest five Januarys on record.

According to the report, the average global temperature in January 2018 was 1.28 degrees Fahrenheit (ºF), above the 20th-century average of 53.6º.

The report states that the average Arctic sea ice coverage in January was 9.4 percent below the 1981-2010 average. It was declared the smallest for the month since records began in 1979. The report also states that the extent of Antarctic sea ice in January was 340,000 square miles (17.4 percent) below the 1981-2010 average, the second smallest extent in January on record.

The globally averaged land-surface temperature was 2º F above the 20th-century average, ranking as the eighth warmest for the month of January. The globally averaged sea-surface temperature was 1.01º F above average and tied with 1998 as the fifth warmest for January on record.

Warmer-than-average conditions were observed across much of the world's oceans during January 2018, with record warmth observed across parts of the north Atlantic Ocean (off the coast of Portugal), and the central and southwestern Pacific Ocean, the report said.

(With inputs from NOAA national Centres for Environmental Information)

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