Heatwave: Last month was fourth warmest October in 143 years

The signs of climate change continue. This week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States (NOAA) published a statement warning that October 2022 was the fourth warmest October on record, that is, 143 years ago.

As reported by that body, the temperature of the past month has only been exceeded by October 2015 (the warmest), 2019 (the second warmest) and 2018 (the third warmest).

By looking at this data in a little more detail, NOAA adds, it can be seen that for the Northern Hemisphere and, especially, for Europe, it was the second warmest October.

Other figures from last month are striking. According to NOAA, the Arctic sea ice cover was the eighth lowest on record for the months of October.

In fact, last month became the hottest October in Switzerland since its national historical series began in 1865 (3.7 degrees more than the average between 1991 and 2020), France since 1945 (3.5 more), Slovenia since 1950 (3.2 more), Spain since 1961 (0.8 more), Austria (2.8 more), Belgium (3.1 more, tied with 2001), Luxembourg (2.9 more, tied with 2006) and Germany (tied with 2001).

As for other regions, last October tied with 2003 as the third warmest in Africa, after 2015 and 2016, and the sixth in Asia and North America, while it was the coldest since 2013 in America. South and since 2016 in Oceania.

On the other hand, this October turned out to be the warmest on land in the northern hemisphere, exceeding the previous record of 2021 by 0.03 degrees. If the ocean temperature is added, that hemisphere had the second warmest October, only 0 .02 degrees behind 2015.

ALL THE PLANET

Regarding the planet as a whole, last month was the fourth warmest October since 1880, when the world record begins, with 0.89 degrees above the 20th century average of 14.0 degrees.

The past seven Octobers are among the 10 warmest Octobers in 143 years. This year was the 46th consecutive October and the 454th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average.

In October it was hotter than normal in most of Europe, northern and western North America, northern Asia; Northwestern, eastern, and southern Africa, and in parts of northern Oceania and southern and western Asia. There were heat records in parts of western and central Europe, western North America and Africa.

Sea surface temperatures were above average across much of the Atlantic; the North, West and Southwest Pacific, and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as parts of the eastern Indian Ocean.

In general, the heat records for September covered about 7.2% of the world's surface. Instead, it was colder than average over parts of southeastern North America, central South America, eastern central Asia, and southern Oceania, though there were no record lows.

JANUARY TO OCTOBER

On the other hand, the temperature of the planet's surface between January and October of this year was 0.87 degrees above the average for the 20th century, which is 14.1 degrees, which makes that period the sixth most warm since 1880.

The 10 warmest January-October periods on record have occurred since 2010. According to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), this year will most likely end up among the 10 warmest on record, but there is only less than a 2% probability that it will be among the five hottest since 1880.

Between January and October, it was warmer than normal in much of North America, Europe, Asia, North and South Africa, North Oceania, and Central and Eastern South America. Much of the northern and western Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and parts of the eastern Indian Ocean have experienced warmer-than-average temperatures so far this year.

In those 10 months, there were near-colder-than-average conditions over small parts of central and northern North America, central Saharan Africa, and western South America.

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