January Sees Warmest Temps Ever As India Gets Biggest Snowfall In Decades

[Snowy Owl]

January Sees Warmest Temps Ever As India Gets Biggest Snowfall In Decades
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World temperatures in January were the highest ever recorded for that month of the year, US government scientists said Friday.

"The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the highest for any January on record," according to scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climate Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
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The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit (0.85 Celsius) warmer than the 20th-century average of 53.6 degrees F (12 C) for January based on preliminary data, NOAA said.

The figures surpass the previous record set in 2002 at 1.28 F (0.71 C) above average.

Land surface temperature was a record 3.40 F (1.89 C) warmer than average, while global ocean surface temperature was the fourth warmest in 128 years, about 0.1 F (0.05 C) cooler than the record established during the very strong El Nino climate phenomenon in 1998.

A moderate El Nino started in September and continued into January before weakening, NOAA said.

El Nino is an occasional seasonal warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that upsets normal weather patterns from the western seaboard of Latin America to East Africa, and potentially has a global impact on climate.

"The presence of El Nino along with the continuing global warming trend contributed to the record warm January," NOAA said.

"The unusually warm conditions contributed to the second lowest January snow cover extent on record for the Eurasian continent," it said.

"During the past century, global surface temperatures have increased at a rate near 0.11 F (0.06 C) per decade, but the rate of increase has been three times larger since 1976, or 0.32 F (0.18 C) per decade, with some of the largest temperature increases occurring in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere," it said.

Heaviest snow in nearly a century hits northern Indian resort town

Shimla (AFP) India, Feb 16 - The popular hill-town resort of Shimla in northern India has been hit by its heaviest snowfall in nearly a century, the local weather office said.

The snow blanketed cars and streets in the town, summer capital of India's former British colonial rulers.

"For the first time (since 1908) Shimla has registered 108.5 millimeters of snow (4.34 inches) in February," said Manmohan Singh, director of the Shimla Meteorological Centre which has been collecting data since 1841.

This was the highest amount of snow in 99 years in Shimla, capital of the scenic Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, he said.

Hundreds of vehicles have been stranded while children turned out to play.

The snow was welcomed by farmers who had feared that a dry spell would mean ruin for crops in the the agriculture-dependent state.

Meanwhile, further east over the Himalayas, snow, mixed with rain, was reported in Nepal's Kathmandu valley for the first time in more than 60 years on Wednesday.

"In limited areas of the Kathmandu valley rainfall mixed with some snowfall fell," for about 45 minutes, a meteorologist told AFP.

Snowfall was last recorded in the valley 62 years ago, the met office said.

While the country is home to Mount Everest and other snow-capped mountains, the capital is sheltered in a temperate valley.

Global warming is a hot issue in Nepal where several glaciers are reported to be retreating.

Source: Agence France-Presse​