Fourth-warmest November on record

The northern hemisphere saw one of its warmest Novembers on record, as the month enters the history books as the world’s fourth-warmest ever.

New data released by the NOAA shows last month was the second-warmest November in 142 years of climate records for the northern hemisphere and the warmest ever in Africa.

Conversely, Oceania saw its coolest November month since 1999 while South America and Asia both ranked in the top 10 warmest.

Global average land and ocean surface temperatures were 0.91C warmer than the 20th-century average while the autumn season as a whole also becomes the northern hemisphere’s warmest in history.

Other notable events include a below-average Arctic sea ice cover measuring within the 10 smallest on record and the wettest November in Australia’s 122-year record.

This now means that the 10 warmest November months have all occurred since 2004, with 2021 on track to rank as one of the warmest years as a whole ever.