Large portions of North America, northern Africa, eastern Europe and Asia were warmer (red dots) than a normal July last month. Details here...
...and below from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center with analysis further below from Andrew Freedman at Climate Central:
NOAA: Global temperatures were seventh warmest on record for July (@usnoaagov)
"The globe experienced its seventh warmest July since record keeping began in 1880. July's Arctic sea ice extent was the smallest on record for that month since records began in 1979...."
NOAA: NCDC July 2011 monthly state of the climate report -- supplemental figures and information
Supplemental Highlights: "This was the 317th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last month with below average temperatures was February 1985...."
Andrew Freedman at Climate Central analyzes the trends (@climatecentral @afreedma)
Globe Records its Seventh Warmest July on Record, Arctic Melt Speeds Up
"Abnormally warm conditions in much of the United States, Northern Europe, Western and Eastern Russia, and parts of the Arctic helped propel July 2011 to the seventh-warmest July on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported yesterday. This makes July the 317th month in a row that global average surface temperatures were above normal. The year-to-date is now the 11th warmest period on average...."
Arctic Sea Ice Extent Trends as of August 14 (via @NSIDC)
The chart below shows the extent of Arctic sea ice in August 2011 compared to normal melt and previous years. Follow the blue line...As NOAA says above, the extent of Arctic sea ice in July was the least amount for any July...the next month will determine whether 2011 (blue line) matches or exceeds the record melt year of 2007 (dotted green line).
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