14 DAY TRIAL // In a recent report, scientists with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that this year's January through October was the hottest such period on record.
What this means is that, since record keeping began back in 1880, the annual average temperature documented on a global scale for January to October was forever below the one reported this year.
“The first ten months of 2014 were the warmest such period on record,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration writes in a statement.
The hottest January to October on record
Researchers say that, according to evidence at hand, the global land and ocean average temperature recorded for January to October 2014 exceeded the 20th century average by 0.68 degrees Celsius (1.22 degrees Fahrenheit).
In case anyone was wondering, the global land and ocean temperature documented to be the average for the 20th century is 14.1 degrees Celsius (57.4 degrees Fahrenheit), Science Daily informs.
As detailed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's report, record warmth was chiefly documented in northern and western Europe, in the northeastern and western equatorial Pacific and in Russia's eastern regions.
The again, it appears that no continent or major basin across the world went without experiencing record warmth, be it only in a few remote areas.
This year's October was especially hot
This year's October was the hottest ever documented since record keeping began in 1880. Thus, the global land and ocean average temperature exceeded the 20th century average for this month, i.e. 14.0 degrees Celsius (57.1 degrees Fahrenheit), by 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.33 degrees Fahrenheit).
By the looks of it, both the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere experienced oddly warm weather. Besides, both land and ocean surfaces were found to have warmed to a considerable extent.
“The Southern Hemisphere was record warm overall with a record high land surface temperature for the month. The Northern Hemisphere was third warmest on record for October, with a record high average sea surface temperature,” the Administration details.
2014 could be the hottest year on record
The fact that this year's January through October was the hottest such period on record means that 2014 is well on track to become the hottest year on record, specialists explain.
Thus, although it is true that snow and freezing temperatures have been reported in plenty of areas since the beginning of winter until now, it could be that, at the end of the year, these episodes will mean nothing when compared to the record high temperatures documented on a global scale.
