World just experienced hottest June in 140 years of recordkeeping
People cool off in the fountains of the Trocadero gardens, in front of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, Friday, June 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
After a month that featured blistering heat waves across Europe, relentless rising temperatures in India, and sweltering temperatures in Alaska that culminated in record heat at the beginning of July, June 2019 became the hottest June on record for the globe, according to a new report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The agency announced on Thursday that the average global temperature in June 2019 was 1.71 degrees Fahrenheit (.95 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average of 59.9 degrees F (15.5 degrees C). This June was the hottest in 140 years of recordkeeping dating back to 1880.
NOAA gathers these numbers through a database of actual surface weather stations around the world, including about 1,200 land stations. These stations collect the surface land temperature while buoy and ship observations are used to take ocean surface temperatures. These conclusions use the average of the combined ocean and land temperatures.
The agency's data shows that nine out of the top 10 hottest Junes have occurred since 2010. The only year from 2010 to 2019 that didn't make the top 10 was 2011. June 1998 was the eighth hottest June on record, according to NOAA.
This most recent June was the 43rd consecutive June and 414th consecutive month with above-average global temperatures, NOAA scientists reported. The last month with below-average temperatures was 34 years ago during February of 1985.
In regards to the period of January through June, NOAA lists 2019 as the second-hottest year to date on record, tying with 2017.
June 2019 has been the warmest June on the 139 years of record-keeping.
"We have seen heat waves like this in the past, but with climate change, heat waves are expected to become more common and more intense in places, even where they are relatively rare and may last longer, which will put further strain on people and agriculture," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
Hawaii and Europe experienced their warmest June on record, which began in 1910, and Alaska had its second warmest June on record, according to Anderson. The rising heat over the years has also been affecting the Arctic.
"The Arctic is warming twice as much as the rest of the world, explaining the temperatures in Alaska," Anderson said. NASA calls the Arctic warming twice as much as in the mid-latitudes "Arctic amplification."
NOAA says the impact of the record warm June 2019 continues to be felt in the planet's coldest spots. The past month marks the 20th consecutive June with Arctic sea ice extent below average, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. During June 2019, the sea ice extent was at 10.5% below the 1981-2010 average, but still above the 2016 record low from June 2016. The record for Arctic ice extent began during 1978.
At the bottom of the world in Antarctica, June 2019 marked the fourth consecutive June that the Antarctic sea ice extent was below average, at 8.5% below the 1981-2010 average, according to the NCEI, making this the smallest June extent on record.
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