Nicholas Humphrey on 2020 as the hottest year on record
Hot Earth
Nicholas Humphrey
2020 is making a run for the hottest year on record. The incredible heat in Siberia has been forcing this possibility.
January-May 2020 temperature anomaly map (relative to 1951-1980 climate) showing significant abnormal warm conditions over much of Eurasia so far in 2020.
January-May 2020 Top 5 warmest/coldest temperature ranks. Note the widespread areas of warmest or 2nd warmest temperatures for the period across the planet, with a large area of record high temperatures over Siberia.
Today, the town of Verhojansk (Verkhoyansk) in East Siberia reported an all-time record high temperature of 38 C (100.4 F)! The community is located at a latitude of 67.6 N and is also a possible hottest on record temperature within the Arctic Circle. Other temperatures across a wide expanse of Siberia were in the 30-35 C (86-95 F) range. Simply incredible.
The current bout of heat in Central and East Siberia will continue for at least the next several days with temperatures averaging at least 10-15 C (18-27 F) above normal across a large area. Long-range models suggest the abnormally warm temperatures over Siberia will persist into early July.
We cannot forget sea ice as well; we are losing it rapidly this season.
—Meteorologist Nick Humphrey
