Consistently Hot: World Had Sixth Hottest July

Once again, lots of red on the world map for
July, 2022. The areas in darkest red had their
hottest July on record this year. No area had
their coolest July. 

 The numbers are crunched and in from NOAA, and the world had its sixth hottest July since reliable records began in the 1880s.  

On the one hand, you might think this July would have been #1 hottest given the extreme heat waves around the world this summer. On the other hand, coming in a #6 makes the most sense.

We still have a pretty strong La Nina weather and ocean pattern going on in the eastern Pacific. This pattern tends to cool the Earth just a little bit.

This La Nina has lasted close to three years now. During the past couple of years, due in part to La Nina, pretty much each month has been coming in as around the fifth or sixth hottest on record.

If you think the world is running a fever now, just think what would happen if we flip to the opposite pattern, El Nino.  The El Nino tends to heat up the world, in general. 

More from NOAA's National Centers For Environmental Information:

"July marked the 46th consecutive July and the 451st consecutive month with temperatures above the the 20the century average. The five warmest Julys on record have all occurred since 2016. "

I mention this every month, but it's worth repeating since it's such a remarkable record:  If you are under the age of 37, you have never seen the Earth experience a cooler than average month. 

The year so far, like July itself, is running as the sixth hottest year on record. At this point, it looks like there's a 99 percent chance that 2022 will rank among the top ten warmest years on record but only an 11 percent chance that it will rank among the top five. 

A big part of the reason 2022 is unlikely to score in the top five warmest list is because that La Nina is expected to last at least to December, if not beyond that.  That will tend to temper the effects of fossil fuel emissions just a little bit. And I emphasize little.

In July, the hottest spots on Earth, relative to average, were in southern and central Europe, eastern Asia, central South America and central North America. Parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, northern Africa and central South America had their warmest July on record. 

The few chilly spots  were over the eastern Pacific due to La Nina, northern Australia, and pockets of southwestern and northwestern Asia. None of these areas had their coolest July on record.