By: Nick Wiltgen
Published: August 21,2013
Despite unseasonably cool weather for millions of Americans, July
2013 went down as the sixth warmest of the past 134 years globally,
according to the U.S. government's latest monthly climate report.
The State of the Climate report, released by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Tuesday, showed that large swaths of the planet were unseasonably warm in July. Most of the cooler-than-average regions were either over the ocean or over sparsely populated areas such as the Yukon and Siberia.
The notable exception was a swath of the United States from the Midwest to the Southeast, where tens of millions of people experienced unseasonably cool weather, including periods of record-low temperatures and an absence of excessive heat. Those regions also saw unusually persistent and widespread rainfall.
(MORE: July Among Wettest on Record for U.S.)
But for most of the world's other populated areas, July was toasty. Portions of the northeastern U.S. recorded the hottest July on record, thanks in part to a string of very warm, muggy nights. The western U.S. was also much warmer than average in July.
Internationally, eastern and southeastern China suffered an exceptional heat wave throughout the month and into August, with numerous cities setting all-time record highs. South Korea had its fourth warmest July of the past 41 years.
Europe also faced extreme heat. Austria broke an all-time national record high in July, only to break it again in August. Triple-digit readings affected Spain, Italy and much of southeastern Europe. The heat wave was temporarily broken by a severe weather outbreak on July 29.
Australia and New Zealand, where July is a winter month, logged their third and fourth warmest July temperatures on record, respectively. Records began in 1901 in Australia and 1909 in New Zealand.
Broken down by region, July 2013 temperatures ranked sixth warmest on record over land and eighth warmest on record over oceans. Temperatures ranked sixth warmest on record over the Northern Hemisphere and seventh warmest on record over the Southern Hemisphere.
The NCDC report said July 2013 was the 37th consecutive July and 341st consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average.
MORE: China Heat Wave, Summer 2013
The State of the Climate report, released by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Tuesday, showed that large swaths of the planet were unseasonably warm in July. Most of the cooler-than-average regions were either over the ocean or over sparsely populated areas such as the Yukon and Siberia.
The notable exception was a swath of the United States from the Midwest to the Southeast, where tens of millions of people experienced unseasonably cool weather, including periods of record-low temperatures and an absence of excessive heat. Those regions also saw unusually persistent and widespread rainfall.
(MORE: July Among Wettest on Record for U.S.)
But for most of the world's other populated areas, July was toasty. Portions of the northeastern U.S. recorded the hottest July on record, thanks in part to a string of very warm, muggy nights. The western U.S. was also much warmer than average in July.
Internationally, eastern and southeastern China suffered an exceptional heat wave throughout the month and into August, with numerous cities setting all-time record highs. South Korea had its fourth warmest July of the past 41 years.
Europe also faced extreme heat. Austria broke an all-time national record high in July, only to break it again in August. Triple-digit readings affected Spain, Italy and much of southeastern Europe. The heat wave was temporarily broken by a severe weather outbreak on July 29.
Australia and New Zealand, where July is a winter month, logged their third and fourth warmest July temperatures on record, respectively. Records began in 1901 in Australia and 1909 in New Zealand.
Broken down by region, July 2013 temperatures ranked sixth warmest on record over land and eighth warmest on record over oceans. Temperatures ranked sixth warmest on record over the Northern Hemisphere and seventh warmest on record over the Southern Hemisphere.
The NCDC report said July 2013 was the 37th consecutive July and 341st consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average.
MORE: China Heat Wave, Summer 2013
Hengyang, China
Rescuers save a man who fainted after climbing
onto a crane tower with the intention to commit suicide, in Hengyang,
central China's Hunan province on July 31, 2013. The man fainted shortly
after he climbed onto the tower due to triple-digit temperatures.
(STR/AFP/Getty Images)
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