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  December 16, 2008 NOAA: Global Temperature for November Fourth Warmest on Record
The year 2008 is on track to be one of the 10 warmest years on record for the globe, based on the combined
average of worldwide land and ocean surface temperatures, according to a preliminary analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. For November alone, the month is fourth warmest all-time globally, for the combined land
and ocean surface temperature. The early assessment is based on records dating back to 1880. Global
Temperature Highlights – 2008 - The combined global land and ocean surface temperature from January
– November was 0.86 degree F (0.48 degree C) above the 20th century mean of 57.2 degrees F (14.0 degrees C).
- Separately,
the global land surface temperature for 2008 was the fifth warmest, with an average temperature 1.44 degrees F (0.80 degree
C) above the 20th century mean of 48.1 degrees F (9.0 degrees C).
- Also separately, the global ocean surface
temperature for 2008 was 0.67 degrees F (0.37 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 61.0 degrees F (16.1 degrees C).
Global
Temperature Highlights – November 2008- The November combined global land and ocean surface temperature
was 1.06 degrees F (0.59 degree C) above the 20th century mean of 55.2 degrees F (12.9 degrees C).
- Separately,
the November 2008 global land surface temperature was fourth warmest on record and was 2.11 degrees F (1.17 degrees C) above
the 20th century mean of 42.6 degrees F (5.9 degrees C).
- For November, the global ocean surface temperature
was 0.68 degrees F (0.38 degree C) above the 20th century mean of 60.4 degrees F (15.8 degrees C).
Other
Global Highlights for 2008 - In the tropical Pacific, 2008 was dominated by El Niño-Southern Oscillation
neutral conditions. La Niña conditions that began the year had dissipated by June.
- Arctic
sea ice extent in 2008 reached its second lowest melt season extent on record in September. The minimum of 1.74 million
square miles (4.52 million square kilometers) reached on September 12 was 0.86 million square miles (2.24 million square kilometers)
below the 1979-2000 average minimum extent.
- The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was the third most
costly on record in current dollars, after 2005 and 2004, and the fourth most active year since 1944. This was the first season
with a major hurricane (Category 3 or above) each month from July through November. With the exception of the South Indian
Ocean, all other tropical cyclone regions recorded near to below-average activity during 2008. Globally, there were 89
named tropical cyclones, with 41 reaching the equivalent of hurricane strength (74 mph), and 20 achieving the equivalent of
major hurricane status (111 mph or greater) based on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
- The United States recorded a preliminary total of just under 1,700 tornadoes from January - November. This
ranks 2008 second behind 2004 for the most tornadoes in a year, since reliable records began in 1953.
- Torrential
rains caused widespread flooding in parts of Vietnam, Ethiopia, northern Venezuela, Brazil, Panama, and the northern Philippines
during November. Several million people were displaced and nearly 200 fatalities were reported. Monsoonal rainfall
was much above average over many regions in 2008. Mumbai, India, recorded its greatest June rainfall in seven years,
while Hanoi, Vietnam, observed its greatest October rains since 1984.
- Persistent severe to exceptional drought
plagued portions of south central Texas and the Southeast U.S. in 2008. Based on the Palmer Drought Index, the 2008 percent
area of the contiguous United States experiencing moderate-extreme drought peaked at 31 percent in June – July. Australia’s
worst drought in a century eased early in 2008, but drought conditions continued in parts of the country.
- Northern
Hemisphere snow cover extent in November was 12.66 million square miles (32.78 million square kilometers). This is 0.50
million square miles (1.29 million square kilometers) below the 1966-2008 November average. Northern Hemisphere snow
cover extent has been below average for most of 2008.
The analyses in NCDC’s global reports are based on
preliminary data, which are subject to revision. Additional quality control is applied to the data when late reports
are received several weeks after the end of the month and as increased scientific methods improve NCDC’s processing
algorithms. NCDC’s ranking of 2008 as ninth warmest if expected trends continue compares to a similar ranking
of ninth warmest based on an analysis by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The NASA analysis indicates that
the January – November global temperature was 0.76 degree F (0.42 degree C) above the 20th century mean. The NOAA
and NASA analyses differ slightly in methodology, but both use data from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center —
the federal government's official source for climate data. NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's
environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
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Spring Comes Early.....
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By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer 2 hours, 34 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The capital's famous cherry trees are primed to burst out in a perfect pink peak about the end of this month.
Thirty years ago, the trees usually waited to bloom till around April 5.
ADVERTISEMENT
In central California, the first of the field skipper sachem, a drab little butterfly, was fluttering about on March 12.
Just 25 years ago, that creature predictably emerged there anywhere from mid-April to mid-May.
And sneezes are coming earlier in Philadelphia. On March 9, when allergist Dr. Donald Dvorin set up his monitor, maple
pollen was already heavy in the air. Less than two decades ago, that pollen couldn't be measured until late April.
Pollen is bursting. Critters are stirring. Buds are swelling. Biologists are worrying.
"The alarm clock that all the plants and animals are listening to is running too fast," Stanford University
biologist Terry Root said.
Blame global warming.
The fingerprints of man-made climate change are evident in seasonal timing changes for thousands of species on Earth,
according to dozens of studies and last year's authoritative report by the Nobel Prize-winning international climate scientists.
More than 30 scientists told The Associated Press how global warming is affecting plants and animals at springtime across
the country, in nearly every state.
What's happening is so noticeable that scientists can track it from space. Satellites measuring when land turns green
found that spring "green-up" is arriving eight hours earlier every year on average since 1982 north of the Mason-Dixon
line. In much of Florida and southern Texas and Louisiana, the satellites show spring coming a tad later, and bizarrely, in
a complicated way, global warming can explain that too, the scientists said.
Biological timing is called phenology. Biological spring, which this year begins at 1:48 a.m. EDT Thursday, is based on
the tilt of the Earth as it circles the sun. The federal government and some university scientists are so alarmed by the changes
that last fall they created a National Phenology Network at the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor these changes.
The idea, said biologist and network director Jake Weltzin, is "to better understand the changes, and more important
what do they mean? How does it affect humankind?"
There are winners, losers and lots of unknowns when global warming messes with natural timing. People may appreciate the
smaller heating bills from shorter winters, the longer growing season and maybe even better tasting wines from some early
grape harvests. But biologists also foresee big problems.
The changes could push some species to extinction. That's because certain plants and animals are dependent on each other
for food and shelter. If the plants bloom or bear fruit before animals return or surface from hibernation, the critters could
starve. Also, plants that bud too early can still be whacked by a late freeze.
myname
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