Global Temperature Report – Sept. 2008

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

September Temperatures (preliminary)

Global composite temp.: +0.16 C (about 0.29 degrees Fahrenheit) above
20-year average for September.
Northern Hemisphere: +0.22 C (about 0.40 degrees Fahrenheit) above 20-year
average for September.
Southern Hemisphere: +0.10 C (about 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) above 20-year
average for September.
August temperatures (revised):
Global Composite: – 0.01 C below 20-year average
Northern Hemisphere: +0.17 C above 20-year average
Southern Hemisphere: – 0.19 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 Oct. 7, 2008:
The La Nina Pacific Ocean cooling event continues to weaken: Temperatures in the tropics were cooler than seasonal norms for the 12th straight month, although only 0.01 C cooler than the seasonal norm for September, according to Dr. John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
As part of an ongoing joint project between The University of Alabama in Huntsville, 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.