Upper Air ReportJanuary 2004

Troposphere


The table below contains mid-tropospheric conditions for January 2004. These temperatures are for the layer centered in the mid-troposphere (approximately 2-6 miles above the earth's surface) but also includes a portion of the lower stratosphere. (The MSU channel used to measure mid-tropospheric temperatures receives about 25 percent of its signal above 6 miles.) Analysis of the satellite record that began in 1979 indicates that global temperatures are increasing in the mid-troposphere, but the magnitude of the trend differs based on the analysis methods used in adjusting for factors such as orbital decay and inter-satellite differences. The 1979-2004 trend for January is 0.02ยฐC/decade based on data from the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) and 0.12ยฐC/decade on data provided by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS). The base period used in both data sets is 1979-1998.
January Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
UAH mid-troposphere +0.16ยฐC (+0.29ยฐF) 6th warmest 1998 (+0.49ยฐC)
RSS mid-troposphere +0.33ยฐC (+0.59ยฐF) 3rd warmest 1998 (+0.52ยฐC)


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Stratosphere


The table below displays stratospheric conditions for January 2004. The stratosphere is located at an altitude of 10-14 miles. Over the past two decades, stratospheric temperatures have been decreasing in large part due to the depletion of ozone. The large increase in temperature in 1982 was caused by the volcanic eruption of El Chichon in Mexico, and the increase in 1991 is a result of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines. The base period used in both data sets is 1979-1990.
January Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
UAH stratosphere -0.66ยฐC (-1.19ยฐF) 21st warmest 1983 (+1.2ยฐC)
RSS stratosphere -0.70ยฐC (-1.26ยฐF) 25th warmest 1983 (+1.10ยฐC)


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Click here for RSS lower-strat image
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Mid-tropospheric and lower stratospheric temperature data are collected by NOAA's TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites and adjusted for time-dependent biases by NASA and the Global Hydrology and Climate Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). An independent analysis is also performed by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS).


Citing This Report

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Monthly Upper Air Report for January 2004, published online February 2004, retrieved on July 31, 2025 from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/upper-air/200401. DOI: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.ncdc:C00762