The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - NOAA reported on Friday that global temperatures for the month of April (based on preliminary data) were the second warmest on record with land and ocean surfaces 0.6deg C (1.0deg F) above the 1880 - 2001 long term average. In England and Wales the mean value was 9.2°C, exceeding the 1961-90 normal of 7.9°C by even 1.3deg C.

April continues the recent trend of warmer than average temperatures. Already January and March 2002 have been the warmest months on global record. The 2001 meteorological year (December-November) had the second warmest global surface temperature in more than a century of instrumental data.

Related features:
Central England Temperature
April lookback - by Philip Eden

Related literature:
Hansen, J., R. Ruedy, Mki. Sato, and K. Lo 2002. Global warming continues. Science 295, 275.
Reynolds, R.W., N.A. Rayner, T.M. Smith, D.C. Stokes, and W. Wang 2002. J. Climate , in press.