Record snow record heat! October climate paradox: October snow cover was abundant, 10th largest in over 50 years vs October 2020 ranking fourth-hottest October on record: October fuels march toward 2nd-hottest year ever recorded.

Click on image to enlarge. An annotated map of the globe showing notable climate and weather events that occurred during October 2020. 

Remarkably warm October fuels march toward 2nd-hottest year ever recorded.

Earth endured exceptional heat last month with October 2020 ranking fourth-hottest October on record. The year to date (January through October) ranked second-hottest for the globe as Arctic sea ice coverage shrank to historic lows for the month, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Below are more highlights from NOAA’s latest monthly global climate report:

Climate by the numbers October 2020

The average global land and ocean surface temperature for October 2020 was 1.53 degrees F (0.85 of a degree C) above the 20th-century average and the fourth-highest October temperature in the 141-year record. The 10-warmest Octobers have occurred since 2005, and the seven warmest have all occurred in the last seven years (2014–2020). Europe had its warmest October on record, which surpassed its previous record set in 2001. South America had its second-warmest October since regional records began in 1910.  

Year to date (YTD) | January through October

The year-to-date global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.80 degrees F — a full 1.00 degree C — above the 20th-century average, making for the second-warmest YTD on record. This was 0.05 of a degree F (0.03 of a degree C) shy of tying the record set in 2016.

Here comes the next! The 30th named storm of the record-busting 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season will form in the coming hours and will be named Lota! The previous record was 2005 with 27 named storms which included Hurricane Katrina and Wilma

Europe and Asia had their warmest YTD period on record, while South America and the Caribbean region had their second warmest. According to a statistical analysis of site link done by NCEI scientists, 2020 is very likely to rank among the three-warmest years on record.

An iceberg the size of Delaware and weighing a trillion tons is heading toward the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia in the Southern Atlantic: The giant iceberg, named A68, has been floating north since it broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017

More notable climate events in this report:

Arctic sea ice set a new record low:

October’s Arctic sea ice coverage was 36.8% below the 1981–2010 average, the smallest October extent on record. This surpassed the previous October record-low coverage — set just last year — by 173,700 square miles.

Heat records were set around the world:

Record-warm October temperatures were observed in parts of the northern and western Pacific Ocean; southern North America; South America; Eastern Europe; the northern Middle East; eastern Mediterranean Sea; southern Asia; and in small areas across the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

OUR ENVIRONMENT IS COLLAPSING JUST AS SEVERELY AS OUR SOCIETY: We are beginning to see certain areas of the world becoming impossible to live in, areas which for years have been heavily populated are now for certain parts of the year at least "unlivable."

No land or ocean areas had record-cold October temperatures. October snow cover was abundant: Despite the global warmth, the Northern Hemisphere’s snow cover last month was the 10th-largest October extent in the 53-year record. North America’s snow cover was the largest on record for October.

More > Access NOAA’s October 2020 climate report and download the images.

Climate Change 2020

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