Global Temperature Anomalies, January 1 through September 30, 2010 

from NCDC/NOAA State of the Climate

  • It was tied for the warmest January–September (1880-2010 = 131 years) for the global land and ocean temperature. 
 
Year-to-date (January–September)
  • For January–September 2010, the global combined land and ocean surface temperature was 0.65°C (1.17°F) above the 20th century average of 14.1°C (57.5°F) and tied with 1998 as the warmest January–September period on record.
  • The global average land surface temperature for the period January–September was the second warmest on record, behind 2007.
  • The global average ocean surface temperature for the period January–September was also the second warmest on record, behind 1998.

The January-September 2010 Blended Land and Ocean Surface Temperature Anomalies in degree CelsiusJanuary–September 2010 map of temperature anomalies shows that anomalous warm temperatures were present over much of the world, with the exception of cooler-than-average conditions across the higher-latitude southern oceans, the eastern equatorial and northern Pacific Ocean, the southern tip of South America, and central Russia. The combined global average land and ocean surface temperature for the January–September period tied with 1998 as the warmest such period on record. This value is 0.65°C (1.17°F) above the 20th century average. Separately, the average worldwide land surface temperature ranked as the second warmest January–September on record, behind 2007. The worldwide average ocean surface temperature also ranked as the second warmest such period on record, behind 1998.

The Northern Hemisphere land surface temperature was the second warmest on record for January–September. The ocean temperature was also the second warmest such period on record. The Northern Hemisphere as a whole—land and ocean combined—had its warmest January–September on record.

The Southern Hemisphere land surface temperature was the third warmest September on record, while the ocean surface temperature was the fourth warmest since records began in 1880. The Southern Hemisphere as a whole experienced its second warmest January–September on record.