Hot Times Already On Earth In Just First Month Of Year

Global temperature anomalies for Sunday, January 28.
Most of the world is warm compared to normal, in
some cases record warm. Note this is temperatures
compared to the average from 1979 to 2000 a 
period when global temperatures had already
increased due to climate change. 

UPDATE FEB 1

More wild record highs have come in since this post three days ago,

The most incredible to me came in from Maple Creek, Saskatchewan on Tuesday.

The temperature there reached 70 degrees, breaking the record by a full four degrees for the

highest January temperature in that province. 

The normal high temperature this time of year in Maple Creek is in the low 20s.

Churchill, Manitoba, on the shore of Hudson Bay, reached 38 degrees. The normal high in Churchill this time of year is 5 above. 

Today, February 1, the Maldives became

the first nation or territory this year to set its all time high temperature for any day of the year. It reached 92.5 degrees.

On Wednesday, the temperature in International Falls, Minnesota, the supposed "Icebox of the Nation" set a new record high for the entire month January with a high of 53 degrees. It was the first time on record temperatures ever reached 50 degrees in International Falls. 

 

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION JAN. 29

We're had another really warm January here in Vermont this year,

It might not feel like it, given all the storms and ice and clouds and gloom we've had.  Chances are low that it will make the top ten warmest, but it's still much balmier than Januaries of the past.  

Meanwhile, the heat is really, really on in other parts of the globe.

Last year was the hottest on record for the Earth. Many experts are saying 2024 will be even hotter. It's less than a month  into the new year, but we're off to a good start in fulfilling that hot prophesy. We're seeing incredible warmth in almost too many spots on the Globe to count.

Throughout history, with or without climate change, there's always been weather extremes. You were always sure to find a couple spots with the warmest temperatures in memory and a couple of others that were coldest that anybody recalled. 

In the age of climate change, you still get a few instances of nasty Arctic chill. But those are far outweighed and outnumbered by the super warm spots. This winter, El Nino is supercharging that trend. 

Heat records  are being set in the United States and around the world at a dizzying pace. Even in spots that haven't seen record heat this month - like Vermont - it's still strangely warm. 

Let's start it all of in the good ole U.S. of A. 

UNITED STATES

While we in Vermont were locked in a Steven King style "Mist" on Friday, Washington DC soared to 80 degrees, their hottest temperature on record for the entire month of January. Their previous record for earliest 80 degrees of the year was on February 21, 2018. On average, Washington's first 80 of the year hits on March 28.

The dew point - a measure of how humid it feels, peaked at  66 degrees in Washington during the January heat wave. That occurred in the morning before the heat peaked. But still, the nation's capital had by Vermont standards an uncomfortably muggy July morning. 

Elsewhere, Charleston, South Carolina tied its January record, reaching 83 degrees. Other record highs included 80 degrees at Baltimore Harbor and 83 degrees in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

This national warm spell helps reverse a trend this month in which record lows in the United States were exceeding record highs. In the age of climate change, most months have more record highs than lows,

Elsewhere, record highs were reported in Washington State and Oregon Sunday, with highs of 61 in Seattle and 63 in Olympia.  Record highs in Oregon included 69 in Eugene and 66 in Salem. The near record warmth is expected to spread into the Northern Rockies, Northern Plains and Upper Midwest by middle of the week.  

 Great Falls, Montana, which bottomed out at an absolutely bitter 34 degrees below zero on January 12 and 13, begun what was expected to be five consecutive days with temperatures in the 60s starting Sunday. 

We've had several bouts of this kind of "weather whiplash" in the United States, including here in Vermont, in which whatever rare moments of record or near record cold is followed immediately by record warmth.

Weather historian Maxmiliano Herrera has - as always - been so helpful documenting these weird and frequent heat waves.  I 

Let's take a global tour and check out just part of the widespread heat Herrara has found over the past few days.   

 Europe

January, 2023 brought some of the hottest midwinter conditions ever recorded in wide swaths of Europe. Weather and climate experts were stunned by the level of winter heat last year.

Then January, 2024 hit. Herrera is calling this "the most insane event in European climatic history, beating 1-2 January, 2023."

Here's just some of the reasons he's saying this: 

The temperature reached 66.5 in Kinlochewe, Scotland Sunday, the highest January temperature on record for anywhere in the United Kingdom. It was also the hottest temperature on record for all of meteorological winter in Scotland, which runs from December 1 to February 29. There was another unconfirmed report of 68 degrees in Scotland that is being investigated. 

Dozens of cities across France reported record highs, with some towns reaching as high as a summer-like 79 degrees. 

Some summery temperatures this past week included 74 degrees in Collobrières, France and Cuenca, Spain, 64 degrees in Imst Austria and 62 degrees in Piotta, Switzerland. Andorra had its hottest January day on record with a reading of 69 degrees. 

Record highs for the month of January have also been reported in Spain. 

South America

Argentina has been having repeated bouts of heat for at least six months now.  They basically endured a year without a winter back in July and Augusts. The heat trend  is continuing this month.

Just one example: Trelew, Argentina just saw its hottest day on record with a high of 109 degrees. Surrounding nations aren't doing much better. Talca, Chile broke its all time record high temperatures last Monday, reaching 102 degrees. Peru is dealing with a record breaking heat wave this weekend. This past Monday, Talca, Chile.

Herrera noted that the most striking part of South America's recent heat is how widespread it has been. Almost all the continent has been broiling in extreme heat over the past week or more.

Africa

The high temperature this past Tuesday in Dimbokro, Ivory Coast reached 103, their hottest January day on record. It was 115 degrees in Vioolsdrif, South Africa. 

On the complete opposite end of Africa, several cities in Algeria this past week recorded their hottest January days on record. A couple cities in Tunisia did the same. 

Elsewhere

Instances of record January warmth were also reported in parts of Australia, Mexico, the Caribbean, and around the Mediterranean sea. South-central Canada looks destined to have record January heat as well as the month closes out. 

There are signs that new outbreaks of record January heat will continue as we close out the month in the next few days. I expect the same out of February at this point. 

With all the heat records being set this month,  it will be interesting to see whether January, 2024 becomes the hottest January on record for the world as a whole.

At this point, I'm betting that happens.