As another year winds down, we often reflect on what was and then look ahead. We tend to do this in all parts of our lives, and I like doing it with the weather.
Due to deadlines for my articles over the holiday season, I will begin with a general look at global temperature patterns over the last 11 months because December’s numbers won’t be available until mid-January. Then we will move to the top Canadian weather stories.
The last in this series of articles will be an in-depth look at the big global weather picture, and I’ll try to tease out what kind of weather might be in store for us in the coming year.
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Let’s go through the global temperature data for each month using information from the four major agencies that track global temperatures.
The first two are NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), which are both American. Then there is the European Copernicus Climate Change Service, which I will simply reference as Europe. Finally, there is the Japan Meteorological Agency, which I will reference as Japan.
Most of the temperature differences these agencies report has to do with how they calculate temperatures over data-sparse areas such as the high Arctic.
The values reference the period of 1880 to 2022. The year 1880 is considered the approximate time when accurate global temperature record keeping began. When comparing temperatures to average, agencies use the 1880 to 1920 period as average because it is considered the best estimate of preindustrial temperatures.
January
NOAA, Europe and Japan all ranked the first month of 2022 as the sixth warmest on record. NASA rated January as the fifth. It was the warmest January on record to occur during a La Niña event. La Niña is a cooling of a large part of the Pacific Ocean that usually results in cooler global temperatures. South America reported its second-warmest month on record.
February
NOAA ranked it the seventh warmest on record. NASA and Europe had February as the fifth warmest, while Japan reported the month as the sixth warmest. North America was the only region to report below-average temperatures in February. Year-to-date, surface temperatures ranked as the sixth warmest on record.
March
All four reporting agencies reported March as being the fifth warmest on record. Land areas had their eighth warmest March. Year-to-date surface temperatures ranked as the fifth warmest on record. The Great Barrier Reef experienced a mass bleaching event, which was the first to occur during a La Niña.
April
NOAA reported it as the fifth warmest, with NASA rating it the seventh warmest April on record. Europe and Japan both ranked April as the sixth warmest. Land areas were the sixth warmest on record, with Asia reporting the warmest April on record. Year-to-date surface temperatures ranked as the fifth warmest on record.
NOAA comes in with the ninth warmest May on record and Japan rates it eighth warmest. NASA gauged it as the sixth warmest and Europe the fifth.
June
NOAA said it was the sixth warmest June, with Europe and Japan rating it as the third warmest. NASA ranked June as the warmest on record at 1.18 C above the 1880-1920 period. While the difference between NOAA’s sixth-place ranking and the first-place ranking of NASA might seem large, the difference between NOAA’s sixth place and NASA’s first place ranking was only 0.08 C. Land areas were the second warmest on record with Asia and Europe seeing their second warmest Junes. Year-to-date surface temperatures ranked as the sixth warmest on record.
July
NOAA reported July as the sixth warmest, with NOAA and Europe rating it third warmest on record. Japan ranked July as the fifth warmest. Land areas and North America saw their second-warmest July on record. Year-to-date surface temperatures still ranked as the sixth warmest on record.
August
NOAA said it was the sixth warmest August on record and warmest on record in the Northern Hemisphere land areas. NASA and Japan said it was second warmest, with Europe ranking it the third warmest. North America and Europe had their warmest August on record. Year-to-date surface temperatures ranked as the sixth warmest on record.
Summer (June to August)
It was the hottest summer on record for Europe and China and second hottest in North America and Asia. Globally, the summer tied 2019 for the warmest June to August period.
September
NOAA said it was the fifth warmest September on record. NASA and Europe said it was fourth warmest, with Japan reporting it as the sixth warmest. Land areas were the seventh warmest on record and North America had its warmest September on record. Year-to-date surface temperatures were ranked as the sixth warmest on record.
October
NOAA said it was the fourth warmest on record. NASA said it was fifth warmest, with Europe and Japan reporting the third warmest. Land areas were second warmest, and Europe had its warmest October on record. At the end of October, year-to-date surface temperatures ranked as the sixth warmest on record.
November
NOAA and Europe ranked November as the ninth warmest on record, while NASA reported it as the 12th warmest month. Japan rated November as the seventh warmest. Europe saw its third warmest November on record while Oceania saw below-average temperatures and the coolest November since 1999. Year-to-date surface temperatures were still ranked as the sixth warmest on record.
There is a 99 per cent certainty that 2022 will rate as the sixth warmest year on record and it occurred within a long-running La Niña. The current La Niña event is entering its third year, which has only happened a handful of times over the last 100 years. Current forecasts show it will end in early 2023. What impact will that have on global temperatures in 2023 remains to be seen.
