The combined averages of both land and water surface temperatures in April 2014 tied with the same month in 2010 as the highest on record for the month, says the National Climatic Data Center.
Both months were at at 0.77°C (1.39°F) above the 20th century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F).
Surface only temperatures were the third-highest ever recorded for April.
Image from the NOAA
The NOAA, based in North Carolina and run by the United States government, is the world’s largest active archive of weather data.
The NOAA listed other highlights in its April report:
- Although the global temperature tied for record highest, the contiguous U.S. observed only its 46th warmest April and much of Canada had cooler-than-average to near-average temperatures for the month. This contrast is an example of how a globally-averaged temperature can differ from a single smaller region.
- Australia observed its seventh highest average April temperature since records began in 1910, at 1.12°C (2.02°F) higher than the 1961–90 average. The average minimum temperature was fourth highest for April, at 1.32°C (2.38°F) above average, with Queensland setting a new record high monthly minimum for the state.
- Austria observed its 10th highest April monthly temperature in its continuous 248-year period of record, at 1.9°C (3.4°F) above the 1981–2010 average.
- It was the third warmest April since records began in 1910 for the United Kingdom, at 1.8°C (3.2°F) above the 1981–2010 average. April also marked the fifth month in a row of above-average temperatures for the UK.
- Following its third warmest March on record, the average April temperature across Norway was the seventh highest for the month since its national records began in 1900, at 2.4°C (4.3°F) above the 1981–2010 average.
- Denmark had its fourth warmest April on record, at 3.0°C (5.4°F) higher than the 1961–90 average, with records dating back to 1874. According to the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), including this year, the four warmest Aprils for the country have all occurred since 2007: 2011 (record warmest); 2009 (second warmest); 2007 (third warmest).
Old thermometer image by BBQ Junkie