Global Temperature Report - October 2008

Newswise — Global trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.13 C per decade

October temperatures (preliminary)

Global composite temp.: +0.17 C (about 0.31° Fahrenheit) above 20-yearaverage for October.

Northern Hemisphere: +0.26 C (about 0.47° Fahrenheit) above 20-year averagefor October.

Southern Hemisphere: +0.07 C (about 0.13° Fahrenheit) above 20-year averagefor October.

September temperatures (revised):

Global Composite: +0.16 C above 20-year average

Northern Hemisphere: +0.22 C above 20-year average

Southern Hemisphere: +0.11 C above 20-year average

(All temperature variations are based on a 20-year average (1979-1998) forthe month reported.)

Notes on data released Nov. 17, 2008:

As part of an ongoing joint project between The University of Alabama inHuntsville, NOAA and NASA, Dr. John Christy, director of the Earth SystemScience Center (ESSC) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Dr.Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist in the ESSC, use data gatheredby microwave sounding units on NOAA and NASA satellites to get accuratetemperature readings for almost all regions of the Earth.

This includes remote desert, ocean and rain forest areas for which reliableclimate data are not otherwise available. The satellite-based instrumentsmeasure the temperature of the atmosphere from the surface up to an altitudeof about eight kilometers above sea level.

Once the monthly temperature data is collected and processed, it is placedin a "public" computer file for immediate access by atmospheric scientistsin the U.S. and abroad.

Neither Spencer nor Christy receives any research support or funding fromoil, coal or industrial companies or organizations, or from any private orspecial interest groups. All of their climate research funding comes fromstate and federal grants or contracts.