Environment

August 2012 was the Earth's 4th warmest August on record

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  • The average combined global land and ocean surface temperature for August 2012 was 0.62°C (1.12°F) above the 20th century average of 15.6°C (60.1°F). This is the fourth warmest August since records began in 1880.
  • The globally-averaged land surface temperature for August 2012 was the second warmest August on record, at 0.90°C (1.62°F) above average, while the globally-averaged ocean surface temperature was the fifth warmest on record, at 0.52°C (0.94°F) above average.
  • ENSO-neutral conditions continued in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean during August 2012. El Niño conditions are likely to emerge in September.
  • The average combined global land and ocean surface temperature for June–August 2012 was 0.64°C (1.15°F) above the 20th century average of 15.6°C (60.1°F), marking the third warmest June–August on record.
  • The globally-averaged land surface temperature for June–August 2012 was the all-time warmest June–August on record, at 1.03°C (1.85°F) above average.
  • The Bureau of Meteorology reported that the average August maximum (daytime) temperature across Australia was 1.49°C (2.68°F) above the 1961–1990 average, making this the sixth warmest August since national records began in 1950. Every state and territory across the country also reported above-average monthly maximum temperatures. However, while the country was warmer than average during the day, it was also colder than average at night. The August minimum (nighttime) temperature across Australia was 0.83°C (1.49°F) below average. The difference between the average maximum temperature and the average minimum temperature was the greatest on record for August and third highest for any month on record.
  • The average monthly temperature in New Zealand during August was 1.2°C (2.2°F) above the 1971–2000 average, making this an "unusually warm" August, according to NIWA. Northeast winds ushered in warm air that contributed to record or near-record high temperatures at 32 locations across the country.
  • Austria reported its fourth warmest August since national records began in 1767, with a temperature that was 1.9°C (3.4°F) above the 1971–2000 average. ZAMG, Austria's national meteorological agency, noted that the top three years were much warmer (3.7 to 3.8°C / 6.7 to 6.8°F above average) while this August falls largely in line with other years that ranked fifth through tenth (1.7 to 1.9°C / 3.1 to 3.4°F above average). The warm temperatures led to the third earliest complete snowmelt (August 19th) at the high elevation mountain station in Sonnblick. The two earliest snowmelts were each reported on August 13th in 1963 and 2003.
  • Spain reported its second warmest August since its records began in 1961, behind only August 2003, at 2.0°C (3.6°F) above the 1971–2000 average. According to AEMet, the warm temperatures were attributed in part to two separate heat waves that occurred during the month.
  • A warmer-than-average August, in combination with the hottest July and a warmer-than-average June, contributed to the third hottest summer on record for the contiguous United States, at 1.3°C (2.3°F) above average.
  • The average maximum (daytime) temperature for June–August (winter) across Australia was near normal, while the minimum (nighttime) temperature ranked as the third coolest on record, at 0.91°C (1.64°F) below average.
  • In the North Atlantic, Hurricane Isaac brought locally heavy rain to Hispaniola, Cuba, and parts of the southeastern United States, with southern Louisiana, where the storm made landfall, receiving up to 500 mm (20 inches) of rain.
  • In the western Pacific, a record three typhoons—Saola, Damrey, and Haikui—made landfall along China's mainland coast within a one-week period at the beginning of the month, each bringing heavy localized rainfall.
  • August was dry cross most of Australia, with the country as a whole reporting its fifth driest August since national precipitation records began in 1900, with monthly rainfall just 44 percent of average. The last month with an average national deficit this great was March 2009.
  • High pressure systems that led to heat waves in Spain also contributed to a dry August. Spain reported its third driest August since national records began in 1961, with average precipitation just above one-third of normal.
  • The South Asian monsoon season in India starts around the beginning of June and lasts through September. For the period June–August, India as a whole experienced rainfall that was 88 percent of average, with fairly similar deficits across the country's major regions, where precipitation ranged from 85 percent of average in northwest India to 90 percent of average in central India. Much of the country saw major deficits during June and July, while average rainfall during August, particularly during the last week, helped ease dryness in some areas. The weak monsoon season to date this year has produced drought across some major agricultural regions, which have seen localized rain deficits up to 28 percent of average.
  • It was also drier than average for the three month period across much of the central United States, from the Rocky Mountains to the Ohio Valley. One of the worst droughts on record gripped much of the central United States.
  • Due in large part to extensive wetness during June and much of July, the United Kingdom observed its second wettest summer in the 103-year period of record, and wettest since summer 1912.

Published September 18, 2012

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