The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climactic Data Center recently announced that the average world-wide temperature for the month made it the fifth-warmest October since records were first kept in 1880.
According to the report, all or part of seven continents experienced temperatures that were higher than average. These include northern Africa, most of Australia, western and far eastern Asia, most of Europe, northeastern and southwestern North America, and central South America.
The combined average temperature over the planet's land and ocean surfaces was 58.23 degrees Fahrenheit (14.63 degrees Celsius), which was 1.13 degrees Fahrenheit (0.63 degrees Celsius) warmer than the twentieth century average. The margin of error associated with the calculation is 0.22 degrees Fahrenheit (0.12 degrees Celsius).
Not all regions of the world experienced a warmer-than-average month. In the United Kingdom, for example, temperatures averaged 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.3 degrees Celsius) below the 1981-2010 mean. It was the coldest October since 2003 in the British Isles.
Southern Africa, central Asia, other parts of western and northern Europe, and northwestern and central North America also experienced lower than average temperatures during October.
The month was the 332nd consecutive month, and the 36th consecutive October, with an average temperature above land and sea surfaces that exceeded the twentieth century average.
The last October in which temperatures were below the twentieth century norm occurred in 1976.
This image shows temperature variations from the twentieth century average. Courtesy NOAA National Climactic Data Center.
