October 2024 Global Climate Report

On August 12, 2024, coincident with the release of the July 2024 global climate report, NCEI began implementing a compressed global report release schedule. Enhancements to the NOAAGlobalTemp dataset implemented earlier in the year provide stability in the global temperature anomaly value earlier in the following month than was seen with previous versions of this dataset. Please see NCEI's Monthly Release Schedule for updated release dates through the end of 2024.

Temperature

In January 2024, the NOAA Global Surface Temperature (NOAAGlobalTemp) dataset version 6.0.0 replaced version 5.1.0. This new version incorporates an artificial neural network (ANN) method to improve the spatial interpolation of monthly land surface air temperatures. The period of record (1850-present) and complete global coverage remain the same as in the previous version of NOAAGlobalTemp. While anomalies and ranks might differ slightly from what was reported previously, the main conclusions regarding global climate change are very similar to the previous version. Please see our Commonly Asked Questions Document and web story for additional information.

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information calculates the global temperature anomaly every month based on preliminary data generated from authoritative datasets of temperature observations from around the globe. The major dataset, NOAAGlobalTemp version 6.0.0, updated in 2024, uses comprehensive data collections of increased global area coverage over both land and ocean surfaces. NOAAGlobalTempv6.0.0 is a reconstructed dataset, meaning that the entire period of record is recalculated each month with new data. Based on those new calculations, the new historical data can bring about updates to previously reported values. These factors, together, mean that calculations from the past may be superseded by the most recent data and can affect the numbers reported in the monthly climate reports. The most current reconstruction analysis is always considered the most representative and precise of the climate system, and it is publicly available through Climate at a Glance.

October 2024

October 2024 was the second warmest October on record for the globe in NOAA's 175-year record. The October global surface temperature was 1.32°C (2.38°F) above the 20th-century average of 14.0°C (57.2°F). This is 0.05°C (0.09°F) less than the record warm October of 2023. October 2024 marked the 48th consecutive October with global temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th-century average.

The global land-only October temperature was the warmest on record at 2.18°C (3.92°F) above average, 0.03°C (0.05°F) warmer than the previous record set in 2023. The ocean-only temperature was second-warmest at 0.94°C (1.69°F) above average. These temperatures occurred under ENSO-neutral conditions. According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center's October ENSO Diagnostic Discussion, ENSO-neutral is expected to continue for the next several months, with La Niña favored to emerge during September-November (66% chance) and persist through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2024-25 (74% chance during November-January). The next ENSO Diagnostic Discussion will be issued on Thursday, November 14.

Record-warm temperatures covered much of the Arctic in October as well as large parts of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Areas of record warmth also occurred in India and Pakistan, small parts of Africa, and South America. October temperatures were much warmer than average across most of the remainder of South America, much of the central and northeastern U.S., parts of North Africa, large areas of Europe, the southern half of Asia, and much of Australia and western Antarctica. Temperature anomalies were greater than 4°C (7.2°F) above average in large parts of the Arctic and 3.0°C (5.4°F) or more above average in the central U.S. During October 2024, 12.2% of the world's surface had a record-high October temperature, exceeding the previous October record of 2015 by 3.8%. Close to 5.3% of the global land surface had a record-high October temperature. Meanwhile, only 0.04% of the global land and ocean surface experienced a record-cold October temperature.

Areas with cooler-than-average October temperatures included the southern half of Greenland where temperatures more than -2.0°C (-3.6°F) below average were widespread. Other areas with cooler-than-average temperatures included parts of western Canada and eastern Alaska, areas in central and southern Africa, central and northern Asia, parts of southwest Asia, and areas of eastern Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Over the global oceans record-warm October temperatures continued to be widespread. They were most notable in the Caribbean, parts of the eastern Indian Ocean, the northwestern Pacific and parts of the Southern Ocean. Across the global ocean, 15.5% of its surface had a record-high temperature for the month. Only 0.06% of the global ocean was record cold in October. Widespread areas of near-average to below-average October sea surface temperatures occurred in the eastern equatorial Pacific, the southeastern Pacific, the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and small parts of the southern Indian Ocean.

In the Northern Hemisphere, October 2024 was second warmest on record at 1.73°C (3.11°F) above average. This is 0.17°C (0.31°F) cooler than October 2023. The Northern Hemisphere land temperature and ocean temperature also individually ranked second warmest on record for the month. The Southern Hemisphere was record-warm for October at 0.91°C (1.64°F) above average. The Southern Hemisphere land temperature and ocean temperature for October were both individually second warmest on record.

October 2024 Blended Land and Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in degrees Celsius

October 2024 Blended Land and Sea Surface Temperature Percentiles

A smoothed map of blended land and sea surface temperature anomalies is also available.

South America had its second-warmest October while Africa had its tenth-warmest October and Europe its fourth-warmest October on record.

• In Germany, October 2024 was 1.7°C (3.1°F) above the 1991–2020 average, making it the 12th warmest October since the national record began in 1881.
• In Austria, October 2024 was 2.0°C (3.6°F) above the 1991–2020 average in the lowlands of Austria, the 11th warmest October in the 258-year record, and 2.2°C (4.0°F) above average in the summit regions, the eighth-warmest October in the 174-year mountain measurement series.
• In the United Kingdom, October was 0.7°C (1.3°F) above the long-term average, based on provisional data from the UK Met Office.
• In Sweden, October was generally 1-2°C warmer than the 1991–2020 average throughout the country.
• In Norway, the national temperature was 1.7°C (3.1°F) above normal, making it the 14th warmest October in the national series of measurements that started in 1901.
• In Iceland, October 2024 was cooler than average across the country. The average temperature in Reykjavík was 1.5°C (2.7°F) below the 1991–2020 average, while in Akureyri, October was 2.7°C (4.9°F) below average, the coldest October since 1981.

Asia had its fifth-warmest October, 1.85°C (3.33°F) above average, and Oceania had its second-warmest October on record, 1.97°C (3.55°F) above average.

• Pakistan had its warmest October on record in 2024, 2.48°C (4.46°F) above average.
• According to the India Meteorological Department, India had its warmest October on record, 1.23°C (2.21°F) above average.
• According to the Hong Kong Observatory, October 2024 had a monthly mean temperature which was 1.6°C (2.9°F) above normal, giving Hong Kong its warmest October on record.
• New Zealand's nationwide average temperature for October 2024 was 0.8°C (1.4°F) above the 1991–2020 average, making it New Zealand’s 16th-warmest October since the national series began in 1909.
• In Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) reported that the Australia mean temperature for October was 2.51°C (4.52°F) above the 1961–1990 average, the second-highest for October since 1910.

North America had its warmest October at 2.54°C (4.57°F) above average.

• The average temperature of the contiguous U.S. in October 2024 was 2.71°C (4.88°F) above average, ranking second warmest in the 130-year record.
• The Caribbean region had its warmest October on record, 1.70°C (3.06°F) above average, 0.01°C (0.02°F) warmer than October 2023.

500 mb maps

In the atmosphere, 500-millibar height pressure anomalies correlate well with temperatures at the Earth's surface. The average position of the upper-level ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure—depicted by positive and negative 500-millibar height anomalies on the map—is generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively.

Year-to-date Temperature: January–October 2024

The January–October global surface temperature ranked warmest in the 175-year record at 1.28°C (2.30°F) above the 1901-2000 average of 14.1°C (57.4°F). According to NCEI's statistical analysis, it is practically certain that 2024 will rank as the warmest year on record.

For the January–October year-to-date period, record-warm temperatures occurred in much of an area stretching from the northern two-thirds of South America through Central America and much of Mexico. Record-warm year-to-date temperatures also occurred in the northeast U.S. and parts of eastern Canada as well as much of the Canadian Archipelago into parts of the western Arctic. Year-to-date temperature anomalies were greater than 2°C (3.6°F) above average in many of these areas.

Elsewhere record warmth was observed throughout large parts of Africa as well as southern and eastern Europe, much of China, South Korea and Japan, southeast Asia, and small parts of western Australia. Temperatures were much warmer than average throughout the remainder of the contiguous U.S., most of central and western Canada, much of Argentina, areas of Africa and Europe that were not record warm, and much of Russia and Australia. Above-average and much-above-average year-to-date temperatures occurred across most of Antarctica with the exception of a small area in the eastern part of the continent that was near average to much cooler than average.

There were only a small number of other land areas with near-average to below-average January-October temperatures. These included southeastern Greenland and Iceland, parts of Alaska, the southern tip of South America, the Russian Far East and a small part of the Northern Territory of Australia.

Over the global oceans, the first ten months of the year had record-warm sea surface temperatures that covered much of the tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic, most of the northern half of the Indian Ocean, the western equatorial Pacific and parts of the northwestern Pacific, as well as small areas in the southern Atlantic, southern Pacific, and southern Indian oceans. By contrast, the only areas of the global ocean with near-average to below-average January-October temperatures were in the southeastern Pacific and southwestern Atlantic extending to western parts of the Southern Ocean, the southwestern Indian Ocean extending to the Southern Ocean, parts of the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, and a small area of the North Atlantic.

January–October 2024 Blended Land and Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in degrees Celsius

January–October 2024 Blended Land and Sea Surface Temperature Percentiles

A smoothed map of blended land and sea surface temperature anomalies is also available.

North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Oceania each had their warmest January–October year-to-date periods on record, while Asia had its second-warmest year-to-date period. Europe and Africa exceeded their previous record-warm January-October periods by 0.43°C (0.77°F) and 0.35°C (0.63°F), respectively. Overall, the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere had their warmest January–Octobers on record, 0.18°C (0.32°F), and 0.09°C (0.16°F), respectively above the previous records set in 2023.

• The average temperature of the contiguous U.S. for the January–October 2024 period was the second warmest on record, slightly below (0.04°C, 0.08°F) the record-warm year-to-date period of 2012.
• The Caribbean region and the Main Development Region for Atlantic Hurricanes had their warmest January–October year-to-date periods, 0.34°C (0.61°F) and 0.38°C (0.68°F) above the previous record-warm such periods, respectively.

Precipitation

The maps shown below represent precipitation percent of normal (left, using a base period of 1961–1990) and precipitation percentiles (right, using the period of record) based on the GHCN dataset of land surface stations.

October 2024

October 2024 Land-Only Precipitation Anomalies

October 2024 Land-Only Precipitation Percent of Normal

Precipitation data from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) shown in the maps above are now augmented by data with greater spatial coverage from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). The GHCN and GPCP map of October precipitation anomalies show large expanses of drier than normal conditions across much of the U.S. stretching into Mexico and parts of Central America. A persistence of drier-than-normal conditions has resulted in 54% of the contiguous U.S. in moderate to extreme drought. Other areas of expansive drier-than-normal October conditions include the eastern Mediterranean, parts of eastern Europe through western Russia and Siberia, southeastern China, southern Africa, and a large part of Australia. Drier-than-average conditions also were present across much of South America, where months of below-average rainfall combined with persistent record and near-record temperatures has led to severe drought across large parts of the continent. In contrast, anomalously wet conditions occurred in areas that included western and central Africa, parts of northwestern China and Kazahkstan through the Russian Far East, southwestern Europe, and parts of the U.S. Southwest and Florida.

Some of the largest positive monthly anomalies were in areas affected by severe tropical and extra-tropical storms.

• In the U.S., on the Florida peninsula, October precipitation was well above average, in large part due to Hurricane Milton which made landfall as a major hurricane on the west coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm, causing catastrophic damage due to high winds, heavy rainfall, and significant storm surge.


• On the Iberian Peninsula, monthly anomalies greater than 150% of average were widespread. According to Spain's State Meteorological Agency the average precipitation over mainland Spain for October was 147 mm (5.8 in.), which is 189% of the 1991—2020 average value for the month, and close to twice the normal amount for the month. It was the wettest October in the series since 1961, ahead of 1979 and 2003, the previous two rainiest months on record. The record wet October conditions in southern and eastern Spain are also evident on the GPCP rank map.
  • The record monthly rainfall was due in large part to an extraordinary and catastrophic storm that occurred on October 29 when very intense rainfall affected the Mediterranean area. It was caused by the presence of a low pressure area located over the Strait of Gibraltar that favored the organization of precipitation systems that stalled over the provinces of Valencia, Cuenca, Albacete and Murcia. In a matter of hours extraordinary amounts of rain fell, causing streams and rivers to overflow their banks and resulting in catastrophic flooding that resulted in reports of more than 200 deaths, primarily in the region of Valencia. Rainfall amounts for October 29 from Spain's Meteorological Agency from several reporting stations in the region are shown in the table below. In many locations the amount of rain that fell in a single day was approximately one third to one half the amount of rain that typically falls in an entire year, and in Turis, the daily total far exceeded that amount.



Rainfall Amounts, 29 October 2024

Location	Province	Precipitation [mm (in.)]
Turis	Valencia	771 (30.4)
Utiel, La Cubera	Valencia	243 (9.6)
Carcaixent	Valencia	140 (5.5)
Barx	Valencia	119 (4.7)
Alora, Las pelonas	Malaga	167 (6.6)
Antequera-Bobadilla	Malaga	106 (4.2)
Dolar	Granada	156 (6.1)
Guadix	Granada	96 (3.8)
Caravaca, Fuentes del Marques	Murcia	153 (6.0)
Mira	Cuenca	174 (6.9)
Salvacanete	Cuenca	83 (3.3)



• In the western Pacific, October precipitation was well above average in Taiwan and eastern China, which were affected by Typhoon Kong-Rey which crossed the island of Taiwan before moving north and northeastward along the eastern coast of China as it interacted with a strong frontal system.


• In the Philippines, heavy rain, flooding and landslides associated with Tropical Storm Trami led to mass evacuations, damaged infrastructure and reports of more than 125 deaths. The Philippines were impacted further by Typhoon Kong-Rey a few days later as it moved to the north of the islands.

Other October precipitation summaries provided by national meteorological services include the following.

• According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, October's national area-weighted rainfall was 15.0mm (0.6 in.), which was 8% below average.


• According to the UK Met Office, October 2024 precipitation was 84% of average. The month had a mix of settled conditions as well as wet and windy weather from a succession of low-pressure systems, including the first named storm of the 2024/25 season. On the 20th, Storm Ashley brought heavy rain and strong winds to Northern Ireland, Scotland, and northern parts of England and Wales.


• In Germany, the average monthly rainfall was 59.8 mm which is 5.5% less than the 1991–2020 average, making October 2024 the 68th wettest since 1881.


• In Austria precipitation for October 2024 was 10% above average although there were regional differences. A Mediterranean low brought a lot of precipitation to the south of Austria in the first half of October. In the north, however, it was much drier than average, especially in most of Innviertel, Muhlviertel and Waldviertel, where the month's precipitation was around 25 to 50% less than average for the month.


• According to the Australia Bureau of Meteorology, the national area-averaged October rainfall total was 18.4% below the 1961–1990 average. Rainfall was generally above average for Western Australia and below average for all other states and territories.

References

• Adler, R., G. Gu, M. Sapiano, J. Wang, G. Huffman 2017. Global Precipitation: Means, Variations and Trends During the Satellite Era (1979-2014). Surveys in Geophysics 38: 679-699, doi:10.1007/s10712-017-9416-4
• Adler, R., M. Sapiano, G. Huffman, J. Wang, G. Gu, D. Bolvin, L. Chiu, U. Schneider, A. Becker, E. Nelkin, P. Xie, R. Ferraro, D. Shin, 2018. The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Monthly Analysis (New Version 2.3) and a Review of 2017 Global Precipitation. Atmosphere. 9(4), 138; doi:10.3390/atmos9040138
• Gu, G., and R. Adler, 2022. Observed Variability and Trends in Global Precipitation During 1979-2020. Climate Dynamics, doi:10.1007/s00382-022-06567-9
• Huang, B., Peter W. Thorne, et. al, 2017: Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature version 5 (ERSSTv5), Upgrades, validations, and intercomparisons. J. Climate, doi: 10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0836.1
• Huang, B., V.F. Banzon, E. Freeman, J. Lawrimore, W. Liu, T.C. Peterson, T.M. Smith, P.W. Thorne, S.D. Woodruff, and H-M. Zhang, 2016: Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature Version 4 (ERSST.v4). Part I: Upgrades and Intercomparisons. J. Climate, 28, 911-930, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00006.1.
• Menne, M. J., C. N. Williams, B.E. Gleason, J. J Rennie, and J. H. Lawrimore, 2018: The Global Historical Climatology Network Monthly Temperature Dataset, Version 4. J. Climate, in press. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0094.1.
• Peterson, T.C. and R.S. Vose, 1997: An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network Database. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 78, 2837-2849.
• Vose, R., B. Huang, X. Yin, D. Arndt, D. R. Easterling, J. H. Lawrimore, M. J. Menne, A. Sanchez-Lugo, and H. M. Zhang, 2021. Implementing Full Spatial Coverage in NOAA's Global Temperature Analysis. Geophysical Research Letters 48(10), e2020GL090873; doi:10.1029/2020gl090873.

Citing This Report

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