Earth’s Temp 8th Warmest On Record In March
The Earth’s temperature reached the 8th-warmest during January-March 2009 since records began in 1880, according to an analysis from the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
The average temperature for the contiguous United States in March was 43.2 degrees F ““ 0.6 degrees F higher than the 20th century average, according to the report released on Thursday.
Additionally, precipitation hit an average of 2.51 inches ““ 0.11 inches above the 1901-2000 average.
“Heavy precipitation last month also pushed the Red River, along the Minnesota-North Dakota border, to record levels, triggering major floods,” said the NCDC.
“Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and West Virginia had their second, fourth, and fifth driest such periods, respectively. In the Southwest, New Mexico and Utah had their eighth and 10th driest January-March periods, respectively.”
While temperatures in the Northwest were below average in March, those of the Southwest and Central regions were above normal and temperatures in the south were “slightly above average.”
The global temperature of 55.04 degrees was nearly a full degree above the 20th Century average of 54.1 degrees, said the NCDC.
“Separately, the March global land surface temperature was 42.47 degrees F, which was 1.67 degrees F above the 20th century average of 40.8 degrees F, ranking it as 10th warmest March on record.”
If the trend of warming continues through the rest of the year, 2009 will mark the 33rd consecutive year of above-average global temperatures since documentation began in 1880.
Based on NOAA satellite-guided observations, March snow cover was near the 1967-2009 average for North America, and below average over Europe and Asia. Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent also was below average for March.
In Antarctica, sea ice during the month of March was at its 4th-highest level on record. Since 1979, Antarctic sea ice extent for March has increased at an average rate of 4.7 percent per decade.
The report documented record snowfalls for North Dakota during March, with Fargo receiving 28.1 inches ““ almost 2 more inches than the previous March record set in 1997. A new monthly record of 4.62 inches of precipitation was also recorded in Fargo in March.
The NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center estimated 115 tornadoes across the US in March, which is below the three-year average of 149 tornadoes in March between 2006 and 2008.
“Approximately 14,078 wild land fires burned 401,741 acres across the nation in March, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center. The total number of wildfires and acres burned since the start of 2009 are both well above their respective 10-year averages,” said the NCDC.
In a report this week, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) said the threat of global warming is still capable of being controlled if nations were to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by the end of the century.
“Carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere have increased from about 284 parts per million (in the pre-industrial era) to more than 380 ppm today,” according to USA Today.
“This study assumed that the globe’s CO2 levels could be maintained at 450 ppm through the century, if the world quickly adapts conservation practices and new green technologies to cut emissions dramatically.”
"This research indicates that we can no longer avoid significant warming during this century," says NCAR scientist Warren Washington, the lead author. "But if the world were to implement this level of emission cuts, we could stabilize the threat of climate change and avoid catastrophe."
—
On the Net: