June globally the fourth warmest month on record

NOAA scientists have announced that June 2012 is the fourth warmest June on record globally. Global average temperature over both land and ocean was 16.13ºC, which is 0.63 ºC above the average. It is also the 36th consecutive June and 328th consecutive month (since February 1985) with global temperatures being above average.

Hotspots over the globe for the June period include Eurasia, North America and North Africa, while colder than average areas are Northern Europe and Australia. North America has been in the news for its heatwave and drought, which means that more than half of the US is experiencing a drought at the moment, whilst records have been broken in terms of temperature in many areas.

Perhaps the most startling of these figures is that June was the warmest Northern Hemisphere monthly on record. Sea ice extent as a result is at its second lowest extent for the period, and could hit a record low at the ice’s minimum come September; this will of course depend on the prevailing weather over the coming months.

The annual average global temperature figure for 2012 will largely depend on the Pacific Ocean, where current neutral conditions could give way to an El Nino. This phenomenon is often associated with increased global temperatures.