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Global Climate ReportMarch 2006
Global Highlights:
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Contents of this Section: |
| The data presented in this report are preliminary. Ranks and anomalies may change as more complete data are received and processed. The most current data may be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page. |
Introduction
Temperature anomalies for March 2006 are shown on the two maps below. The dot map on the left provides a spatial representation of anomalies calculated from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) data set of land surface stations using a 1961-1990 base period. The map on the right is a product of a merged land surface and sea surface temperature anomaly analysis which is based on data from the GHCN of land temperatures and the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) of Sea-Surface Temperature (SST) data. Temperature anomalies with respect to 1961-1990 for land and ocean are analyzed separately and then merged to form the global analysis. Additional information on this product is available.| During March 2006,
there were above average temperatures in the U.S. Great Plains,
Mexico, Algeria, Peru, Greenland and much of Asia. Cooler than
average temperatures were observed in Europe, Alaska, South Africa
and the western coast of British Columbia. During January-March 2006, there were above average temperatures in the majority of North America, central Africa, much of Asia and Greenland. Cooler than average temperatures were observed in eastern Europe, Alaska and Russia. In January-March and March 2006, warmer than average SSTs occurred in the South Pacific and the North Atlantic. Cooler than average conditions were observed in the Niño 3.4 region, indicative of the La Niña episode that developed by mid-January, and also off the coast of western Australia. Please see the latest ENSO discussion for further information. |
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The mean position of upper level ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure (depicted by positive and negative 500 millibar height anomalies on the March 2006 map) are generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively. For other Global products see the Climate Monitoring Global Products page. |
| Images of sea surface temperature conditions are available for all weeks during 2006 at the weekly SST page. |
Temperature Rankings and Graphics |
| Effective with the January 2006 report, NCDC transitioned from the use of the Operational Global Surface Temperature Index (Quayle et al. 1999) to the blended land and ocean dataset developed by Smith and Reynolds (2005). The differences between the two methods are discussed in Smith et al. 2005. |
| Current Month / Year-to-date |
| March | Anomaly | Rank | Warmest Year on Record |
|---|---|---|---|
GlobalLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+1.02°C (+1.84°F) +0.38°C (+0.68°F) +0.55°C (+0.99°F) |
7th warmest 7th warmest 7th warmest |
1990 (+1.45°C/2.61°F) 1998 (+0.51°C/0.92°F) 2002 (+0.73°C/1.31°F) |
Northern HemisphereLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+1.21°C (+2.18°F) +0.33°C (+0.59°F) +0.66°C (+1.19°F) |
8th warmest 6th warmest 6th warmest |
1990 (+1.99°C/3.58°F) 2004 (+0.49°C/0.88°F) 1990 (+0.90°C/1.62°F) |
Southern HemisphereLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.45°C (+0.81°F) +0.43°C (+0.77°F) +0.44°C (+0.79°F) |
13th warmest 7th warmest 9th warmest |
1988 (+1.60°C/2.88°F) 1998 (+0.55°C/0.99°F) 1988 (+0.63°C/1.13°F) |
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| January-March | Anomaly | Rank | Warmest Year on Record |
|---|---|---|---|
GlobalLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.75°C (+1.35°F) +0.38°C (+0.68°F) +0.48°C (+0.86°F) |
11th warmest 6th warmest 7th warmest |
2002 (+1.50°C/2.70°F) 1998 (+0.53°C/0.95°F) 2002 (+0.72°C/1.30°F) |
Northern HemisphereLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.80°C (+1.44°F) +0.32°C (+0.58°F) +0.50°C (+0.90°F) |
12th warmest 6th warmest 10th warmest |
2002 (+1.88°C/3.38°F) 1998 (+0.50°C/0.90°F) 2002 (+0.95°C/1.71°F) |
Southern HemisphereLandOcean Land and Ocean |
+0.60°C (+1.08°F) +0.44°C (+0.79°F) +0.46°C (+0.83°F) |
5th warmest 7th warmest 7th warmest |
1998 (+0.86°C/1.55°F) 1998 (+0.56°C/1.01°F) 1998 (+0.60°C/1.08°F) |
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The most current data may be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.
PrecipitationThe maps below represent anomaly values based on the GHCN data set of land surface stations using a base period of 1961-1990. During March 2006, above average precipitation fell over areas that include the U.S. southern Plains, Brazil, India, far eastern Europe, southeast Asia and parts of the U.S. Ohio Valley. Below average precipitation was observed in Iceland, South Africa, the western coast of Canada and the U.S. East Coast. |
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ENSO SST Analysis Click here for animated loop |
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ReferencesPeterson, T.C. and R.S. Vose, 1997: An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network Database. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 78, 2837-2849. Quayle, R. G., T. C. Peterson, A. N. Basist, and C. S. Godfrey, 1999: An operational near-real-time global temperature index. Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 333-335. Smith, T. M., and R. W. Reynolds (2005), A global merged land air and sea surface temperature reconstruction based on historical observations (1880-1997), J. Clim., 18, 2021-2036. |
