Data Snapshots: August 2014 Global Temperature Anomaly

In Brief

August 2014’s globally averaged surface temperature was one for the record book: at 61.45°F (16.35°C), it was the hottest August since record keeping began in 1880. Compared to the average surface temperature over land and ocean combined for every August from 1901-2000, this year was 1.35°F warmer. To take the top spot, August 2014 surpassed the previous record set in 1998 by 0.07°F.

Average global sea surface temperature in August 2014 also entered the record book, setting two new records. The month not only beat the previous record for August set in 2005, it also beat the previous all-time record set just two months ago in June 2014.

More Info

Colors show how average monthly temperatures compare to their long-term average. Blue areas were cooler than average; red areas were warmer than average. The darker the color, the larger the difference from the average temperature.

Temperature readings for the map come from weather stations in the Global Historical Climate Network. To calculate temperature anomalies, climate scientists subtract each station’s average monthly temperature from its 1981-2010 average for the same month and produce a map of the results. Data visualizers apply a mathematical filter to the image to fill blank spots and smooth color transitions across the map.

Map by NOAA Climate.gov, based on GHCN data originally provided by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and interpolated by the NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab. Caption adapted from the August 2014 Global Climate Analysis from the NCDC.

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