March 28, 2007—Global temperatures for December 2006 through February 2007 were the warmest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
El Niño conditions contributed to the season’s record warmth, which was 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit above the mean temperature for the 20th century.
Temperatures were above average across the globe, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and some areas in the central United States.
With the El Niño conditions weakening, NOAA warned in late February that sea surface temperatures were indicating a possible transition to a La Niña event, which involves cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. This is bad news for this year’s hurricane outlook, since La Niña events tend to result in a greater number of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, said NOAA.
For more information, see the NOAA Web site.
