The last three months are the warmest on record globally, relative to every other June-July-August period since 1850.

Data from NOAA/NCEI's NOAAGlobalTempv6.1.0.

My next 'climate viz of the month' blog is posted, which summarizes this past summer across the Arctic after recently reaching the September annual minimum for sea-ice extent: zacklabe.com/climate-viz-...

#SciComm #OpenScience #OpenData #DataViz

Happy September equinox 2026! Enjoy your week! 🌞

Understanding seasons - graphic shows the incoming solar radiation around the two equinoxes (sun passes over the equator)...

Download this visualization at zacklabe.com/arctic-clima...

The average global temperature so far this year (for the January-August period) is now up to the 2nd warmest on record since the start of this dataset...

This data is using NOAAGlobalTempv6.1.0: www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/lan...

The textbook fingerprint of El Niño is now visible in last month's sea surface temperature anomalies. El Niño is not a storm, but a natural pattern of climate variability. This redistribution of heat can influence weather worldwide, but is still hard to clearly disentangle.

Data from OISSTv2.1 🌊

Honestly, it's already getting hard to keep up with all of the new climate data records. And I only expect this to amplify later this year. Climate change is still the key story.

You just experienced the warmest summer on record across the contiguous United States.

Data at doi.org/10.7289/V5SX...

How are our glaciers around the world doing? 😢

Graphic from zacklabe.com/climate-chan...

Temperature anomalies averaged over the last month (left), 3 months (center), and 12 months (right) across the Southern Hemisphere...

Data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5 reanalysis.

There was some silly chatter saying July's record wasn't a big deal for the U.S. because it was only for average/minimum temperatures. Well, looking at the bigger picture, 2026 is also running the 2nd warmest on record for maximum temperatures so far this year. 2012 & 2026 are well above the 1930s.

Wednesday El Niño update - Sea surface temperatures of course remain at record high levels in Niño3.4. While there has been little change in the anomaly field over the last week, we continue to see an exceptional eastern shift of the warm pool & another absurd westerly wind burst.

Data: OISSTv2.1 🌊

The average global temperature has been setting new record highs for this time of year well over the last 10 consecutive days. Clearly, we are already seeing some of the extra building warmth from El Niño starting to show its fingerprint.

Graphic from zacklabe.com/climate-chan...

One of the regions that contributed to the rapid decline in #Antarctic sea ice was in the Amundsen Sea. This area can see rapidly changing ice conditions from week-to-week along the ice edge, such as due to changes in local weather patterns.

Data from nsidc.org/data/seaice_...

Long-term trends in Arctic sea-ice concentration are much more widespread in August (and September) than during other months. The largest declines are in parts of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

Sea ice concentration = fraction of ice-cover. More info at doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...

Global sea ice cover has taken a nose dive this week, mostly due to a sudden drop in #Antarctic sea ice extent. Though, both poles are well below the long-term average.

More visuals of global sea ice: zacklabe.com/global-sea-i.... Data from @nsidc.bsky.social.

Last month was statistically tied (with 2024) for the hottest July on record globally! There were a lot of climate records around the world in July, and this is only likely to continue for the rest of 2026.

This data is using NOAAGlobalTempv6.1.0: www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/lan...

July 2026 was the warmest month for average temperatures on record across the contiguous U.S., even surpassing the Dust Bowl. This was especially due to an increase in those dangerously high overnight temps.

📣 REGISTER for our next briefing to learn more: climatecentral-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

My monthly Arctic temperature graphics are now updated for July 2026. It was another unusually cold month for the northernmost areas of the Arctic Circle.

Check it out at zacklabe.com/arctic-tempe...

Sea surface temperatures are way above average in parts of the #Arctic as of last month, particularly in the Kara Sea Basin extending to around Svalbard and the Greenland Sea. This is also found in the Hudson Bay due to their very early sea ice melt-out.

Data from @noaa.gov OISSTv2.1 🌊