Ice Age vs Global Warming: It's not just Europe who have had an incredible warm start to 2020! So far over 5,500 daily warm records have been tied or set, trouncing the number of cold records in the U.S.

January 2020 was 5th warmest on record according to NOAA, for the U.S. Great Lakes ice coverage was well-below the average

It's not just Europe who have had an incredible warm beginning to 2020. According to NOAA, all 48 contiguous states saw above- to much-above-average temperatures last month. The new year kicked off with a balmy start for the U.S., making January 2020 the fifth warmest January on the 126 year record. However, NOAA claimed January was also a wet month, continuing the trend of 2019 which was the the third wettest period ever.

So far in 2020, over 5,500 daily warm records have been tied or set, trouncing the number of cold records. For the first 40 days of the year, through Feb. 9, NOAA's Daily Weather Records website showed 2,421 daily record highs, meaning the highest temperature on record for a given location on that particular day, were tied or set in the U.S. Another 3,148 daily record-warm lows, meaning the warmest low temperature on a given day, were also tied or set so far this year, for a total of 5,569 daily warm records to start the year. By contrast, there were only 307 daily record lows and 481 daily record-cold highs tied or set during that same 40-day stretch.

When examining temperatures that set records for the month, rather than just a calendar day, the numbers were even more lopsided. A total of 209 monthly warm records were tied or set in the U.S. in that same 40-day period through Feb. 9. Only four monthly cold records were set in that time. January 2020 was the fifth-warmest January in 126 years, according to NOAA. Among the month's many notables, Boston reached the 70s on back-to-back January days for the first time on record, a high, more typical of around Memorial Day than the second weekend of January. That same weekend, Charleston, West Virginia, reached 80 degrees for the second January day on record. WU

In comparison, many parts of Europe have been enjoying summer temps in mid-winter. Earlier this month saw Puerto De La Cruz topping the list with a mighty, 30 deg C, (86 deg F) and Valencia hitting 29.4 deg C, (85 deg F) almost double the average temperatures for the time of the year, smashing the old record of 27 deg C, (80 deg F).

Extreme warmth across the southern half of Europe brought exceptional temperatures across Spain, southern France, and NW Italy. Dry Foehn winds have resulted in extremely high early February values with locally 26-28 °C peak afternoon temperatures. Turin and Cuneo in NW Italy reached almost +27 °C – the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Piedmont region (NW Italy) during winter! Southern Switzerland stopped at +24 °C while Valencia reported +28.4 °C! That is *exceptional* for this period. Severe Weather Europe

Warm records tumbled in Norway and Scandinavia recording its warmest January day on record when the mercury hit an astonishing 19 deg C, (66 deg F), an incredible 25 deg C, above the monthly average. The highest temperature of 19C (66F)  was more than 25C above the monthly average, measured in the village of Sunndalsora. This makes it Norway's warmest January day since records began. While many were enjoying the warm weather, there are concerns that it is another example of climate change. "It's a new record for warm weather here... BBC forecaster Peter McAward said the previous January high in Sunndalsora was 17.4C. It also breaks the record for any winter month (December to February) in Scandinavia, he added. The area also held the December (18.3C) and February (18.9C) Norway maximum records.

Earlier, a new maximum temperature for December in the UK was recorded when a temperature of 18.7 deg C, (66 deg F) was reached at Achfary, in the Highlands of Scotland, the hottest day of December ever recorded in the UK. The old record stands at 18.3 deg C, in Achnashellach in the Highlands on 2 December 1948.

Meanwhile, Christmas was so mild in Moscow authorities dumped thousands of tons of artificial snow onto the streets of the capitol after the Russian capital city enjoyed its mildest Christmas since 1888.


Antarctic continent posts record temperature reading of 18.3°C

Fresh fears of accelerating damage to the planet’s ice sheets and sea-level rise have been fuelled by confirmation from the UN’s weather agency that the Antarctic likely saw a new temperature record of more than 18°C on Thursday. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, spokesperson Clare Nullis from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that the record reading taken in the north of the continent would be considered unusual, even during the current warmer summer months. The Big Wobble

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