September 2013: Fourth Warmest on Record Worldwide, According to NCDC

By: By Nick Wiltgen

Published: October 23,2013

In this map from the National Climatic Data Center, red shades indicate above-average temperatures in September 2013, while blue shades indicate below-average temperatures. The scale is in degrees Celsius (multiply by 1.8 for degrees Fahrenheit).

September 2013 continued the long-standing trend of above-average temperatures globally, tying 2003 as the fourth warmest September on record worldwide according to the latest monthly report from the National Climatic Data Center.
NCDC's State of the Climate report said September 2013 was the warmest on record for land areas of the Southern Hemisphere, despite chilly weather in Argentina and parts of South Africa. The report cited record warmth in Australia as the culprit; there, the September temperature was nearly 5 Fahrenheit degrees above the 1961-1990 average, setting a record. National records have been kept in Australia since 1910, while global records in the NCDC report date back to 1880.
Widespread warmth was also noted over the western two-thirds of the U.S. and Canada as well as parts of southwest Asia.
(MORE: Sixth Warmest September in the U.S.)
The globally-averaged surface temperature in September 2013 was 1.15 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th-century average, continuing a long-term trend of warmer global temperatures. Every September since the late 1970s has been warmer than the 20th-century average.
The NCDC report noted that September was the 17th consecutive month with a neutral El Nino/La Nina signal in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, the longest neutral phase since a 26-month neutral period in 1992-1994.
While that key portion of the ocean had near-average sea surface temperatures in September, most other ocean regions were warmer than normal. Record warmth was noted in pockets of the South Pacific and South Indian oceans, as well as the Barents Sea north of Scandinavia and northwest Russia.






MORE: September 2013 Climate Infographic

Sept. 2013 Temperatures

Above: Temperature rankings, relative to the past 134 years, over land, ocean, and combined land-ocean areas for the globe and for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in September 2013. Below: Selected national temperature rankings for September 2013.

Data: National Climatic Data Center