NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
Contents of this Section:
Note: Beginning in December 2010, all data are reported here with respect to the 1981–2010 base period. Prior to December 2010, radiosonde data were reported with respect to the 1961–1990 base period and satellite data were reported with respect to the 1979–1998 base period. Remote Sensing Systems continues to provide data to NCDC with respect to the 1979–1998 base period; however, NCDC readjusts the data to the 1981–2010 base period so that the satellite measurements are comparable. This change provides a more consistent comparison between the various datasets.
Note: Effective with the January 2011 report, Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) transitioned to a new version (3.3) of the RSS MSU/AMSU atmospheric temperature datasets. Information about the differences between version 3.2 and 3.3 is available.
Upper Air Highlights
University of Alabama Huntsville satellite analyses report that the lower troposphere Febuary 2011 temperature was 0.01°C (0.02°F) below the 1981–2010 average, the 17th coolest (17th warmest) since satellite records began in 1979. The seasonal December–February period was the 13th warmest on record.
Remote Sensing Systems satellite analyses report a lower troposphere February temperature anomaly of 0.06°C (0.10°F) below the 1981–2010 base period, the 14th coolest (20th warmest) on record. The seasonal December–February period ranked as 20th coolest (14th warmest).
University of Alabama Huntsville satellite analyses report a February 2011 mid troposphere temperature anomaly of 0.14°C (0.25°F) below average, the 10th coolest (24th warmest) such period on record. When these analyses are adjusted to remove stratospheric influence, the anomaly decreases to 0.09°C (0.18°F) below average, the 13th coolest (21st warmest) on record.
Remote Sensing Systems satellite analyses report a February 2011 mid troposphere temperature anomaly of 0.08°C (0.15°F) below average, the 13th coolest (21st warmest) such period on record. When these analyses are adjusted to remove stratospheric influence, the anomaly decreases to 0.03°C (0.05°F) below average, the 18th coolest (16th warmest) on record.
For the lower stratosphere, University of Alabama Huntsville satellite data indicate that Febuary 2011 was the 15th coolest February in the 33-year period of record, while Remote Sensing System satellite analyses report that February 2011 was the 17th coolest (17th warmest) February. Both report that the December–February period was 18th coolest (16th warmest) on record.
Troposphere
Temperatures above the Earth's surface are measured within the lower troposphere, middle troposphere, and stratosphere using in-situ balloon-borne instruments (radiosondes) and polar-orbiting satellites (NOAA's TIROS-N). The radiosonde and satellite records have been adjusted to remove time-dependent biases (artificialities caused by changes in radiosonde instruments and measurement practices as well as changes in satellite instruments and orbital features through time). Global averages from radiosonde data are available from 1958 to present, while satellite measurements date back to 1979.
Lower Troposphere
Current Month | Seasonal | Year-to-date
These temperatures are for the lowest 8 km (5 miles) of the atmosphere. Information on the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) sources of troposphere data is available.
| February | Anomaly | Rank (out of 33 years) |
Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *UAH low-trop | -0.01°C/-0.02°F | 17th warmest | 1998 (+0.66°C/+1.19°F) | +0.13°C/decade |
| RSS low-trop | -0.06°C/+0.010°F | 20th warmest | 1998 (+0.63°C/+1.13°F) | +0.14°C/decade |
*Version 5.3
| December–February | Anomaly | Rank (out of 33 years) |
Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *UAH low-trop | +0.06°C/+0.10°F | 13th warmest | 1998 (+0.46°C/+0.82°F) | +0.13°C/decade |
| RSS low-trop | +0.02°C/+0.03°F | 14th warmest | 1998 (+0.43°C/+0.77°F) | +0.13°C/decade |
*Version 5.3
| January– February |
Anomaly | Rank (out of 33 years) |
Warmest Year on Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *UAH low-trop | +0.00°C/+0.00°F | 17th warmest | 1998 (+0.57°C/+1.03°F) | +0.13°C/decade |
| RSS low-trop | -0.05°C/-0.09°F | 18th warmest | 1998 (+0.53°C/+0.95°F) | +0.14°C/decade |
*Version 5.3
Mid-troposphere
Current Month / Seasonal Year-to-date
These temperatures are for the atmospheric layer centered in the mid-troposphere (approximately 3–10 km [2–6 miles] above the Earth's surface), which also includes a portion of the lower stratosphere. (The Microwave Sounding Unit [MSU] channel used to measure mid-tropospheric temperatures receives about 25 percent of its signal above 10 km [6 miles].) Because the stratosphere has cooled due to increasing greenhouse gases in the troposphere and losses of ozone in the stratosphere, the stratospheric contribution to the tropospheric average, as measured from satellites, may create an artificial component of cooling to the mid-troposphere temperatures. The University of Washington (UW) versions of the UAH and RSS analyses attempt to remove the stratospheric influence from the mid-troposphere measurements, and as a result the UW versions tend to have a larger warming trend than either the UAH or RSS versions. For additional information, please see NCDC's Microwave Sounding Unit page.
The radiosonde data used in this global analysis were developed using the Lanzante, Klein, Seidel (2003) ("LKS") bias-adjusted dataset and the First Difference Method (Free et al. 2004) (RATPAC). Additional details are available. Satellite data have been adjusted by 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) and a third analysis has been performed by Dr. Qiang Fu of the University of Washington (UW) (Fu et al. 2004)** to remove the influence of the stratosphere on the mid-troposphere value. Global averages from radiosonde data are available from 1958 to present, while satellite measurements began in 1979.
Radiosonde measurements indicate that, for the January–February year-to-date period, temperatures in the mid-troposphere were 0.17°C (0.31°F) above average, resulting in the 9th warmest January–February period (out of 54 years) since global radiosonde measurements began in 1958. Various satellite analyses of the January–February year-to-date period for the middle troposphere ranked between 19th and 25th warmest in the 33-year satellite record.
Radiosonde measurements indicate that mid-tropospheric temperatures were 0.23°C (0.41°F) above average during the Northern Hemisphere winter season, giving December–February a rank of 8th warmest on record. The table below shows that the various satellite measurements for the season.
The global mid-troposphere temperatures were well above average during February 2010. As shown in the table below, satellite measurements for February 2010 ranked second warmest on record, behind 1998.
| February | Anomaly | Rank (out of 33 years) |
Warmest Year on Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *UAH mid-trop | -0.14°C/-0.25°F | 24th warmest | 1998 (+0.65°C/+1.17°F) | +0.03°C/decade |
| RSS mid-trop | -0.08°C/-0.15°F | 18th warmest | 1998 (+0.61°C/+1.10°F) | +0.10°C/decade |
| UW-*UAH mid-trop | -0.09°C/-0.16°F | 21st warmest | 1998 (+0.75°C/+1.34°F) | +0.09°C/decade |
| UW-RSS mid-trop | -0.03°C/-0.05°F | 16th warmest | 1998 (+0.69°C/+1.24°F) | +0.15°C/decade |
*Version 5.3
| December–February | Anomaly | Rank (out of 33 years) |
Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record |
Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *UAH mid-trop | -0.09°C/-0.16°F | 24th warmest | 1998 (+0.44°C/+0.79°F) | +0.02°C/decade |
| RSS mid-trop | -/0.05°C/-0.09°F | 20th warmest | 1998 (+0.42°C/+0.75°F) | +0.07°C/decade |
| UW-*UAH mid-trop | -0.04°C/-0.06°F | 19th warmest | 1998 (+0.52°C/+0.94°F) | +0.08°C/decade |
| UW-RSS mid-trop | +0.00°C/+0.00°F | 16th warmest | 1998 (+0.48°C/+0.87°F) | +0.13°C/decade |
| RATPAC | +0.23°C/+0.41°F | 8thwarmest | 2010 (+0.55°C/+0.99°F) | +0.16°C/decade |
*Version 5.3
| January– February |
Anomaly | Rank (out of 33 years) |
Warmest (or Next Warmest) Year on Record |
Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *UAH mid-trop | -0.14°C/-0.25°F | 25th warmest | 1998 (+0.56°C/+1.01°F) | +0.03°C/decade |
| RSS mid-trop | -0.09°C/-0.16°F | 20th warmest | 1998 (+0.53°C/+0.95°F) | +0.09°C/decade |
| UW-*UAH mid-trop | -0.10°C/-0.18°F | 20th warmest | 1998 (+0.66°C/+1.19°F) | +0.08°C/decade |
| UW-RSS mid-trop | -0.04°C/-0.07°F | 19th warmest | 1998 (+0.62°C/+1.12°F) | +0.15°C/decade |
| RATPAC | +0.17°C/+0.31°F | 9th warmest | 2010 (+0.77°C/+1.39°F) | +0.15°C/decade |
*Version 5.3
Note: RATPAC's rank is based on records that began in 1958 (54 years).
Stratosphere
The table below summarizes stratospheric conditions for February 2010. On average, the stratosphere is located approximately 16–23 km (10–14 miles) above the Earth's surface. Over the last decade, stratospheric temperatures have been below average in part due to the depletion of ozone. The large positive anomaly in 1982 was caused by the volcanic eruption of El Chichon in Mexico, and the sharp jump in temperature in 1991 was a result of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines. In both cases the temperatures returned to pre-eruption levels within two years.
| February | Anomaly | Rank (out of 33 years) |
Coolest Year on Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| *UAH stratosphere | -0.15°C (-0.27°F) | 15th coolest | 2006 (-0.57°C/-1.03°F) |
| RSS stratosphere | -0.10°C (-0.19°F) | 17th coolest | 2006 (-0.58°C/-1.04°F) |
*Version 5.3
| December–February | Anomaly | Rank (out of 33 years) |
Coolest Year on Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| *UAH stratosphere | -0.14°C (-0.25°F) | 16th coolest | 2006 (-0.53°C/-0.95°F) |
| *RSS stratosphere | -0.09°C (-0.17°F) | 16th coolest | 2006 (-0.51°C/-0.92°F) |
*Version 5.3
References
Christy, John R., R.W. Spencer, and W.D. Braswell, 2000: MSU tropospheric Temperatures: Dataset Construction and Radiosonde Comparisons. J. of Atmos. and Oceanic Technology, 17, 1153-1170.
Free, M., D.J. Seidel, J.K. Angell, J. Lanzante, I. Durre and T.C. Peterson (2005) Radiosonde Atmospheric Temperature Products for Assessing Climate (RATPAC): A new dataset of large-area anomaly time series, J. Geophys. Res., 10.1029/2005JD006169.
Free, M., J.K. Angell, I. Durre, J. Lanzante, T.C. Peterson and D.J. Seidel(2004), Using first differences to reduce inhomogeneity in radiosonde temperature datasets, J. Climate, 21, 4171-4179.
Fu, Q., C.M. Johanson, S.G. Warren, and D.J. Seidel, 2004: Contribution of stratospheric cooling to satellite-inferred tropospheric temperature trends. Nature, 429, 55-58.
Lanzante, J.R., S.A. Klein, and D.J. Seidel (2003a), Temporal homogenization of monthly radiosonde temperature data. Part I: Methodology, J. Climate, 16, 224-240.
Lanzante, J.R., S.A. Klein, and D.J. Seidel (2003b), Temporal homogenization of monthly radiosonde temperature data. Part II: trends, sensitivities, and MSU comparison, J. Climate, 16, 241 262.
Mears, Carl A., M.C. Schabel, F.J. Wentz, 2003: A Reanalysis of the MSU Channel 2 tropospheric Temperature Record. J. Clim, 16, 3650-3664.