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Assessing the Global Climate in June 2017

The globe had its second warmest year-to-date and third warmest June on record

Photo of Lüner Lake in Austria
Courtesy of Pixabay.com

The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for June 2017 was the third highest for the month of June in the NOAA global temperature dataset record, which dates back 138-years to 1880. The year-to-date global temperature was second warmest on record.

This monthly summary is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides to government, business, academia, and the public to support informed decision-making.

June Temperature

  • The June temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.48°F above the 20th century average of 59.9°F. This was the third highest value for June in the 138-year period of record, behind 2016 and 2015. June 2017 marks the 41st consecutive June and the 390th consecutive month with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th century average.

  • The June globally averaged land surface temperature was 2.07°F above the 20th century average of 55.9°F. This value was the fourth highest June land global temperature in the 1880–2017 record, behind 2016, 2015, and 2012.

  • The June globally averaged sea surface temperature was 1.26°F above the 20th century monthly average of 61.5°F. This was the third highest global ocean temperature for June in the record, behind 2016 and 2015.

June Sea Ice

  • The average Arctic sea ice extent for June was 348,000 square miles (7.5 percent) below the 1981–2010 average. This was the sixth smallest June sea ice extent since records began in 1979, according to an analysis by the National Snow and Ice Data Center based on data from NOAA and NASA.

  • The Antarctic sea ice extent for June was 340,000 square miles (6.3 percent) below the 1981-2010 average. This was the second smallest June Antarctic sea ice extent since records began in 1979 and about 40,000 square miles larger than the record smallest extent set in 2002.

Year-to-Date (January–June 2017)

  • The year-to-date temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.64°F above the 20th century average of 56.3°F. This was the second highest value for January-June in the 1880–2017 record, behind the record year of 2016 by 0.29°F.

  • The year-to-date globally averaged land surface temperature was 2.68°F above the 20th century average of 45.0°F. This was the second highest for January–June in the 138-year record, behind 2016 by 0.56°F.

  • The year-to-date globally averaged sea surface temperature was 1.26°F above the 20th century average of 60.9°F. This was the second highest for January–June in the record, behind 2016 by 0.18°F.

For  a more complete summary of climate conditions and events, see our June 2017 Global Climate Report.