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Global Temperature Report - July 2008

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19.08.2008

Shrinking regions of cooler than normal temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean during July suggest the La Niña cooling event is fading.

Global trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.13 C per decade

July temperatures (preliminary)

Global composite temp.: +0.05 C (about 0.09 degrees Fahrenheit) above
20-year average for July.

Northern Hemisphere: +0.09 C (about 0.16 degrees Fahrenheit) above 20-year
average for July.

Southern Hemisphere: ±0.00 C (about 0.00 degrees Fahrenheit) above 20-year
average for July.

June temperatures (revised):

Global Composite: -0.11 C below 20-year average

Northern Hemisphere: +0.01 C above 20-year average

Southern Hemisphere: -0.23 C below 20-year average

(All temperature variations are based on a 20-year average (1979-1998) for
the month reported.)

Notes on data released Aug. 14, 2008:

Shrinking regions of cooler than normal temperatures in the tropical Pacific
Ocean in July suggest the La Niña cooling event is fading, according to Dr.
John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at The University
of Alabama in Huntsville.

Notes:
As part of an ongoing joint project between UAH, NOAA and NASA, Christy and
Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist in the ESSC, use data
gathered by microwave sounding units on NOAA and NASA satellites to get
accurate temperature readings for almost all regions of the Earth. This
includes remote desert, ocean and rain forest areas for which reliable
climate data are not otherwise available. The satellite-based instruments
measure the temperature of the atmosphere from the surface up to an altitude
of about eight kilometers above sea level.

Once the monthly temperature data is collected and processed, it is placed
in a "public" computer file for immediate access by atmospheric scientists in the U.S. and abroad.

Neither Spencer nor Christy receives any research support or funding from
oil, coal or industrial companies or organizations, or from any private or
special interest groups. All of their climate research funding comes from
state and federal grants or contracts.

Dr. John Christy, UAH, 256.961.7763
john.christy@nsstc.uah.edu
Dr. Roy Spencer, UAH, 256.961.7960
roy.spencer@nsstc.uah.edu

Dr. John Christy | Source: Newswise Science News
Further information: www.uah.edu/

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