Tropopsphere

Lower Troposphere

December Lower Troposphere
December Anomaly Rank
(35 years)
Record Years Decadal Trend
°C °F Year °C °F °C °F
UAH +0.27 +0.49 Coolest 33rd 1984 -0.48 -0.86 +0.13 +0.23
Warmest 2nd 2003 +0.37 +0.67
Ties: 1987
RSS +0.08 +0.14 Coolest 24th 1984 -0.45 -0.81 +0.09 +0.17
Warmest 11th 2003 +0.37 +0.67
Ties: 2005
Year-to-Date Lower Troposphere
January–December Anomaly Rank
(35 years)
Record Years Decadal Trend
°C °F Year °C °F °C °F
UAH +0.24 +0.43 Coolest 32nd 1984 -0.35 -0.63 +0.14 +0.25
Warmest 4th 1998 +0.42 +0.76
RSS +0.12 +0.22 Coolest 26th 1985 -0.36 -0.65 +0.13 +0.23
Warmest 9th 1998 +0.45 +0.81
Ties: 2009

Mid-troposphere

December Mid-troposphere
December Anomaly Rank
(35 years)
Record Years Decadal Trend
°C °F Year °C °F °C °F
UAH +0.12 +0.22 Coolest 28th 1995 -0.27 -0.49 +0.01 +0.02
Warmest 7th 1987 +0.36 +0.65
Ties: 1994
RSS +0.09 +0.16 Coolest 24th 1985 -0.27 -0.49 +0.04 +0.07
Warmest 10th 1987 +0.37 +0.67
Ties: 2009, 1981
UW-UAH +0.18 +0.32 Coolest 30th 1983 -0.38 -0.68 +0.07 +0.13
Warmest 5th 1987 +0.38 +0.68
Ties: 2012
UW-RSS +0.14 +0.25 Coolest 27th 1983 -0.34 -0.61 +0.08 +0.15
Warmest 8th 1987 +0.39 +0.70
Ties: 1994
Year-to-Date Mid-troposphere
January–December Anomaly Rank
(35 years*)
Record Years Decadal Trend
°C °F Year °C °F °C °F
UAH +0.16 +0.29 Coolest 32nd 1984 -0.24 -0.43 +0.05 +0.09
Warmest 4th 1998 +0.42 +0.76
RSS +0.14 +0.25 Coolest 30th 1985 -0.29 -0.52 +0.08 +0.14
Warmest 6th 1998 +0.43 +0.77
UW-UAH +0.21 +0.38 Coolest 33rd 1984 -0.32 -0.58 +0.11 +0.20
Warmest 3rd 1998 +0.52 +0.94
UW-RSS +0.19 +0.34 Coolest 30th 1985, 1984 -0.32 -0.58 +0.13 +0.23
Warmest 6th 1998 +0.51 +0.92
RATPAC* +0.33 +0.59 Coolest 53rd 1965 -0.76 -1.37 +0.15 +0.28
Warmest 4th 2010 +0.48 +0.86

*RATPAC rank is based on 56 years of data

Stratosphere

Lower Stratosphere

December Lower Stratosphere
December Anomaly Rank
(35 years)
Record Years Decadal Trend
°C °F Year °C °F °C °F
UAH -0.16 -0.29 Coolest 18th 2000 -0.60 -1.08 -0.38 -0.69
Warmest 17th 1982 +1.46 +2.63
Ties: 2010
RSS -0.11 -0.20 Coolest 19th 2000 -0.56 -1.01 -0.31 -0.55
Warmest 17th 1982 +1.33 +2.39
Year-to-Date Lower Stratosphere
January–December Anomaly Rank
(35 years)
Record Years Decadal Trend
°C °F Year °C °F °C °F
UAH -0.28 -0.50 Coolest 15th 2012, 2008 -0.49 -0.88 -0.37 -0.66
Warmest 21st 1982 +1.05 +1.89
RSS -0.22 -0.40 Coolest 13th 2012 -0.42 -0.76 -0.29 -0.51
Warmest 21st 1992 +0.96 +1.73
Ties: 2004, 1998

Background

Temperatures above the Earth's surface are measured within the lower troposphere, middle troposphere, and stratosphere using in-situ balloon-borne instruments (radiosondes) and polar-orbiting satellites (NOAA's TIROS-N). The radiosonde and satellite records have been adjusted to remove time-dependent biases (artificialities caused by changes in radiosonde instruments and measurement practices as well as changes in satellite instruments and orbital features through time). Global averages from radiosonde data are available from 1958 to present, while satellite measurements date back to 1979.

The mid-troposphere temperatures are centered in the in the atmospheric layer approximately 3–10 km [2–6 miles] above the Earth's surface, which also includes a portion of the lower stratosphere. (The Microwave Sounding Unit [MSU] channel used to measure mid-tropospheric temperatures receives about 25 percent of its signal above 10 km [6 miles].) Because the stratosphere has cooled due to increasing greenhouse gases in the troposphere and losses of ozone in the stratosphere, the stratospheric contribution to the tropospheric average, as measured from satellites, creates an artificial component of cooling to the mid-troposphere temperatures. The University of Washington (UW) versions of the UAH and RSS analyses attempt to remove the stratospheric influence from the mid-troposphere measurements, and as a result the UW versions tend to have a larger warming trend than either the UAH or RSS versions. For additional information, please see NCEI's Microwave Sounding Unit page.

The radiosonde data used in this global analysis were developed using the Lanzante, Klein, Seidel (2003) ("LKS") bias-adjusted dataset and the First Difference Method (Free et al. 2004) (RATPAC). Additional details are available. Satellite data have been adjusted by the Global Hydrology and Climate Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). An independent analysis is also performed by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) and a third analysis has been performed by Dr. Qiang Fu of the University of Washington (UW) (Fu et al. 2004)** to remove the influence of the stratosphere on the mid-troposphere value. Global averages from radiosonde data are available from 1958 to present, while satellite measurements began in 1979.

References


Citing This Report

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Monthly Upper Air Report for December 2013, published online January 2014, retrieved on March 28, 2024 from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/upper-air/201312.