[Original release with images: 2012: record arctic sea ice melt]
Press Release No. 966
For use of the information media
Not an official record
2012: Record Arctic Sea Ice Melt, Multiple Extremes and High Temperatures
GENEVA/DOHA, 28 November 2012 (WMO) – The years 2001–2011 were all among the warmest on record, and, according to the
World Meteorological Organization, the first ten months indicate that 2012 will most likely be no exception despite the
cooling influence of La Niña early in the year.
WMO’s provisional annual statement on the state of the global climate also highlighted the unprecedented melt of the Arctic sea ice and multiple weather and climate extremes which affected
many parts of the world. It was released today to inform negotiators at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar.
January-October 2012 has been the ninth warmest such period since records began in 1850. The global land and ocean
surface temperature for the period was about 0.45°C (0.81°F) above the corresponding 1961–1990 average of 14.2°C,
according to the statement.
The year began with a weak-to-moderate strength La Niña, which had developed in October 2011. The presence of a La Niña
during the start of a year tends to have a cooling influence on global temperatures, and this year was no different.
After the end of the La Niña in April 2012, the global land and ocean temperatures rose increasingly above the long-term
average with each consecutive month. The six-month average of May–October 2012 was among the four warmest such periods
on record.
“Naturally occurring climate variability due to phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña impact on temperatures and
precipitation on a seasonal to annual scale. But they do not alter the underlying long-term trend of rising temperatures
due to climate change as a result of human activities,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.
“The extent of Arctic sea ice reached a new record low. The alarming rate of its melt this year highlighted the
far-reaching changes taking place on Earth’s oceans and biosphere. Climate change is taking place before our eyes and
will continue to do so as a result of the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which have risen
constantly and again reached new records,” added Mr Jarraud.
The Arctic reached its lowest annual sea ice extent since the start of satellite records on 16 September at 3.41 million
square kilometers. This was 18% less than the previous record low of 18 September, 2007. The 2012 minimum extent was 49
percent or nearly 3.3 million square kilometers (nearly the size of India) below the 1979–2000 average minimum. Some
11.83 million square kilometers of Arctic ice melted between March and September 2012.
WMO will release a 10-year report on the state of the climate, “2001-2010, A Decade of Extremes” on 4 December 2012. It
was produced in partnership with other United Nations and international agencies and highlights the warming trend for
the entire planet, its continents and oceans during the past decade, with an indication of its impacts on health, food
security and socio-economic development.
Highlights of 2012 provisional statement
Temperatures:.
During the first ten months of 2012, above-average temperatures affected most of the globe’s land surface areas, most
notably North America (warmest on record for contiguous United States of America), southern Europe, western and central
Russia and northwestern Asia. Much of South America and Africa experienced above average temperatures during the first
ten months of the year, with the most anomalous warmth across parts of northern Argentina and northern Africa. Much of
Asia had above-average temperatures, with cooler-than-average conditions across parts of northern China. South Asia and
the Pacific were also predominantly warmer than normal, except for Australia.
Extremes: Notable extreme events were observed worldwide, but some parts of the Northern Hemisphere were affected by multiple
extremes during January–October 2012.
• Heat waves: Major heat waves impacted the Northern Hemisphere during the year, with the most notable in March–May across the
continental United States of America and Europe. Warm spells during March 2012 resulted in many record-breaking
temperatures in Europe and nearly 15,000 new daily records across the USA. Russia witnessed the second warmest summer on
record after 2010. Numerous temperature records were broken in Morocco in summer.
• Drought: According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly two-thirds of the continental United States (65.5 percent) was considered
to be in moderate to exceptional drought on 25 September 2012. Drought conditions impacted parts of western Russia and
western Siberia during June and July, and Southeast Europe, the Balkans and some Mediterranean countries during summer.
In China, the Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan province experienced severe drought during winter and spring. Northern
Brazil witnessed the worst drought in 50 years. The April–October precipitation total, in Australia was 31 percent below
normal.
• Floods: Many parts of western Africa and the Sahel, including Niger and Chad, suffered serious flooding between July and
September because of a very active monsoon. Heavy rainfall from the end of July through early October prompted
exceptional floods across Nigeria. Parts of southern China experienced their heaviest rainfall in the last 32 years in
April and May. Devastating monsoonal floods impacted Pakistan during September. Central and parts of northern Argentina
suffered from record rainfall and flooding in August, and parts of Colombia were affected by heavy precipitation for
most of the year.
• Snow and Extreme Cold: A cold spell on the Eurasian continent from late January to mid-February was notable for its intensity, duration, and
impact. Across eastern Russia, temperatures ranged between -45°C to -50°C during the end of January. Several areas of
eastern Europe reported minimum temperatures as low as -30°C, with some areas across northern Europe and central Russia
experiencing temperatures below -40°C.
Tropical Cyclones: Global tropical cyclone activity for the first ten months was near the 1981–2010 average of 85 storms, with a total of
81 storms (wind speeds greater or equal than 34 knots, or 63 kilometers per hour). The Atlantic basin experienced an
above-average hurricane season for a third consecutive year with a total of 19 storms, with ten reaching hurricane
status, the most notably being Sandy, which wreaked havoc across the Caribbean and the USA East Coast. Throughout the
year, East Asia was severely impacted by powerful typhoons. Typhoon Sanba was the strongest cyclone, globally, to have
formed in 2012. Sanba impacted the Philippines, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula, dumping torrential rain and triggering
floods and landslides that affected thousands of people and caused millions in U.S. dollars in damage.
Background notes
The provisional statement is being released at the 18th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, taking place in Doha, Qatar. Final updates and figures for 2012 will be published in March
2013. It is based on climate data from networks of land-based weather and climate stations, ships and buoys, as well as
satellites. The WMO global temperature analysis is thus principally based on three complementary datasets. One is the
combined dataset maintained by both the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climatic Research Unit, University of
East Anglia, United Kingdom. Another dataset is maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), and the third one is from the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) operated by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA). Additional information is drawn from the ERA-Interim reanalysis-based data set maintained
by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
WMO released its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin 21 November. It is available at WMO Global Atmosphere Watch Programme
Web page: http://www.wmo.int/gaw
2012 Extremes Table [Scoop copy: 9662012ExtremesTable.pdf]
The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations System’s authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water
ENDS