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10 straight months of record-setting temperatures and counting
MARCH 30, 2024, PHILIPPINES: A person takes a dip in Manila Bay, hoping to cool down as the state weather bureau warned of heat indexes reaching dangerous levels of up to 110 degrees F in some areas. March 2024 was the warmest March on record for the world, and the tenth month in a row of record heat. (Image credit: Jes Aznar/Getty Images)
Earth added another remarkably warm month to the year so far, with March 2024 ranking as the warmest March in the planet’s climate record.
Last month also continued the world’s streak of record-breaking warm months — 10 in a row — according to scientists and data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
Below are more highlights from NOAA’s latest monthly global climate report:
Climate by the numbers
March 2024
The average global land and ocean-surface temperature for March was 2.43 degrees F (1.35 degrees C) above the 20th-century average of 54.9 degrees (12.7 degrees C), ranking as the warmest March in the 175-year global climate record. March 2024 was also the 10th-consecutive month of record-high global temperatures.
Looking at the continents, Africa and South America had their warmest March on record while Europe saw its second warmest. In contrast, parts of western North America, central Asia and western Australia were cooler than average last month.
Year to date (YTD, January through March)
The 2024 YTD global surface temperature was the warmest such period on record at 2.43 degrees F (1.35 degrees C) above the 20th-century average. South America had its warmest year-to-date period, while Africa, Europe and Oceania had their second warmest.
According to NCEI’s Global Annual Temperature Outlook, there is a 55% chance that 2024 will rank as the warmest year on record and a 99% chance that it will rank in the top five warmest.
Other notable climate events
- Global sea ice coverage ran low: Globally, polar sea ice coverage ranked as the eighth-smallest extent (coverage) on record. Arctic sea ice extent was slightly below average (by 60,000 square miles), while Antarctic sea ice extent was significantly below average (by 350,000 square miles), ranking as the fifth-smallest coverage on record.
- Tropical activity was below average: Four named storms swirled across the globe in March, ranking below the 1991–2020 average of six. The only major storm was Severe Tropical Cyclone Neville, which brought high surf to coastal northwestern Australia. There were two other storms in the South Indian Ocean that impacted Africa — Filipo, which brought strong winds and torrential rains to Mozambique; and Gamane, which brought strong winds and heavy rains to Madagascar.
More > Access NOAA’s latest climate report and download the images.
