Antarctic sea ice coverage shrank to new record low
Mother Earth worked up a major sweat last month. Scorching temperatures made June 2019 the hottest June on record for the globe. And for the second month in a row, warmth brought Antarctic sea-ice coverage to a new low for June.
Here’s a closer look into NOAA’s latest monthly global climate report:
Climate by the numbers
June 2019
The average global temperature in June was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 59.9 degrees, making it the hottest June in the 140-year record, according scientists to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
Nine of the 10 hottest Junes have occurred since 2010. Last month also was the 43rd consecutive June and 414th consecutive month with above-average global temperatures.
Year to date I January through June
The period from January through June produced a global temperature 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 56.3 degrees, tying with 2017, as the second-hottest year to date on record.
It was the hottest first half of the year for: South America, parts of the southern portion of Africa, Madagascar, New Zealand, Alaska, western Canada, Mexico, eastern Asia, the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and the Bering Sea.
More notable stats and facts
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Sea ice keeps melting: Average Antarctic sea-ice coverage was 8.5% below the 1981-2010 average – the smallest on record for June. Average Arctic sea ice coverage was 10.5% below average – the second-smallest on record for June.
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A slightly cooler year, so far, for some: The contiguous U.S. and southern Canada had year-to-date temperatures at least 1.8 degrees F cooler than average.