Warmest September on record and Arctic sea ice update

Both NASA and NOAA recently released their global surface temperature anomaly data for September.

Both data sets indicate that September 2020 was the warmest September on record going back to 1880.

NOAA found that September 2020 averaged 0.97 degrees Celsius (1.75 F) above the 20th century average. The previous record was set back in 2015 and 2016.

NASA determined that last month averaged 1.00 C (1.8 F) above the 1951-1980 mean, making it the warmest September on record.

Based on the temperature anomalies of the first nine months of 2020, it looks like the globe is on pace to be the second warmest year on record. This would be especially impressive considering that half of the year would be under neutral or La Nina conditions. La Nina tends to have a slight cooling influence on the Earth's average temperature.

Arctic sea ice update

Zack Labe, who is an atmospheric scientist at Colorado State and frequently gives updates on the sea ice situation in the Arctic, has reported that the lowest reported sea ice extent anomaly (based on the five-day mean) on record occurred this month. Records go back to 1979.

The latest Arctic sea ice extent graphic from the NSIDC continues to show that the extent is running well below the 1981-2010 average and close to the record low year of 2012.