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April 2012 Global Surface Temperatures

May 14, 2012; 2:53 PM

April 2012 was tied for 4th warmest on record globally, based on combined land and ocean surface temperature anomalies, according to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Monthly temperature anomalies have been slowly increasing since the start of the year. One factor that could be influencing this rebound is the demise of La Nina, which typically has a global cooling effect.

According to GISS, April 2012 averaged +0.56 C or +1.01 F above normal globally, putting last month tied with April 1998 for 4th warmest. The warmest April was 2010. Records began back in 1880.

Hemispheric temperature anomalies for April 2012. Courtesy of GISS.

Speaking of hemispheres, as you can see the northern hemisphere was clearly much warmer relative to normal compared to the south. This is nothing new, as the greatest warming over the past two decades has been across the far northern latitudes.

The northern hemisphere averaged +0.95 C or +1.71 F above normal for April 2012, making last month the 3rd warmest on record for land/ocean combined.

If you just consider land surface temperature anomalies, April 2012 was the 2nd warmest April on record for the northern hemisphere. Again, records go back to 1880.

By the way, April 2012 was the 3rd warmest on record for the United States, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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