WASHINGTON (AP) — Meteorologists say unseasonable weather pushed last month to the fifth warmest April on record worldwide.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center calculated that April’s average temperature of 57.9 degrees (14.4 degrees Celsius) was nearly 1.2 degrees (0.7 degrees Celsius) above the 20th Century normal. Two years ago was the hottest April since recordkeeping started in 1880.
Last month was the third hottest April in the United States and unusually warm in Russia, but cooler than normal in parts of western Europe. This is despite a now ended La Nina which generally lowers global temperatures.
April was the 326th warmer than normal month in a row for the world.
The first four months of 2012 only rank the 15th warmest on record.
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Online:
NOAA data: http://1.usa.gov/MgrqfK
NOAA imagery: http://bit.ly/JGitcq
