NOAA Reports World’s Oceans Had Warmest Summer Temeratures on Record

Surface temperatures of the world’s oceans were warmer this summer than for any Northern Hemisphere summer since records were first kept in 1880, according to data released by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. From June to August, ocean temperatures reached an average of 62.5° F worldwide, about 1.04° warmer than the 20th century average of 61.5°. NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center also reported that the average global land and ocean temperature for August was the second-warmest on record, behind only 1998. In August, the average global land surface temperature of 58.2° F was 1.33° above the 20th century average of 56.9°. While some areas, including the central United States, had cooler temperatures than average, large portions of the world’s land mass had warmer temperatures than average, including both Australia and New Zealand, which had their warmest Augusts ever.