Continuing the nearly 29-year streak of above-average global monthly temperatures, January came in as the fourth-warmest such month on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This makes it the warmest January since 2007, NOAA said, and was the 38th-straight January with a global temperature above the 20th century average.
The global warmth came in stark contrast to the “polar vortex” induced conditions the eastern U.S. and Canada experienced, as well as the cold and stormy conditions in the UK and parts of Russia. Unusually high temperatures elsewhere more than compensated for these cold regions. For example, Southern Hemisphere land temperatures were the highest on record for the month.
See also: 20 Arctic Photos From the Midst of the Polar Vortex
In other words, it may have been cold where you were, but globally, the planet’s hot streak continues unabated. If February's global average temperature comes in above the 20th century average, it would make 29 years since the last below average month. Not only that, but increasing odds of an El Niño event occurring by the end of the summer means that global average surface temperatures may vault to record levels by late this year and into 2015.
El Niño events are characterized by unusually mild ocean temperatures in the equatorial tropical Pacific Ocean, and they tend to increase global average surface temperatures by contributing extra heat to the atmosphere, in addition to the already apparent effects of manmade global warming.

Image: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

The last January with below average global temperatures occurred in 1976, the bicentennial of the U.S., and the year that the first “Rocky” movie hit theaters. The last below average global temperature for any month was February 1985.
According to NOAA, the combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for January was 54.8 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 1.17 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average. Using different analysis methods, NASA also concluded that Alaska had its third-warmest January, and central and southern Africa were record warm for the month as well. China had its second-warmest January on record, and France tied with 1988 and 1936 for its warmest January.
January was also marked by a worsening drought in the Western U.S., where parts of California reached “exceptional drought” status for the first time in the 15-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor. “It’s becoming very clear that Western drought is becoming a major issue that’s going to face the nation in 2014,” said Deke Arndt, chief of the climate monitoring branch at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. on a conference call with reporters.
In contrast, a sopping wet UK, where flooding engulfed large portions of south-central England after a series of storms pummeled the region. It was the third-wettest January for the U.K. as a whole, NOAA said.
While above average temperatures helped to reduce Arctic Sea ice cover to the fourth-lowest reading since reliable records began in 1979, seasonal sea ice cover surrounding Antarctica was the second largest on record for January. The two poles have vastly different environments, and sea ice decline in the Arctic has been tied to manmade global warming, while changing in winds, ocean currents, and the ozone layer in the stratosphere are thought to be behind sea ice dynamics in the Antarctic.
Interestingly, while seasonal sea ice has grown around Antarctica, parts of the vast land-based ice sheet - which is more than a mile thick and contributes to sea level rise when it melts - has been thinning, alarming climate scientists. If the entire Antarctic ice sheet were to melt, it would raise sea levels by at least 200 feet. While this is not expected to occur anytime soon, it illustrates the crucial role the continent will play in determining the future of coastal areas in a warming world.
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