An anomaly in the surface air temperature for the month of May 2023 Regarding the May average for the period 1991-2020. Data source: ERA5. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF.
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)which is implemented by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission, routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on changes observed in the global system. surface air temperatureAnd sea ice And hydrological variables. All reported results are based on computer-generated analyzes using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.
Temperatures in May 2023:
- This month was the second warmest month globally, less than 0.1°C cooler than the warmest May.
- Sea surface temperatures and sea air temperatures were the highest on record for the month of May over all ice-free seas.
- Temperatures were on average close to normal for most of Europe.
- Parts of Canada, Africa and Southeast Asia were warmer than normal.
- It was noticeably colder than normal across Australia and from northwest India to southern Siberia.
- An El Niño signal continues to appear over the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.
According to Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, “May 2023 was the second warmest in the world as we see the El Niño effect continue to play out in the equatorial Pacific. Ocean temperatures are already at record levels and our data indicates that the average temperature across all ice-free oceans for May 2023 was higher than for any other May..
Mean temperatures (°C) over ice-free seas for May from 1979 to 2023. Light blue bars indicate sea surface temperature and dark blue bars indicate a 1°C sea air temperature change. Data source: ERA5. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF.
The most prominent hydrological events in May 2023:
- May 2023 was wetter than average over much of southern Europe and western Iceland; Heavy rainfall led to flooding in Italy and the Western Balkans.
- A drier-than-usual condition has been recorded in most of the Iberian Peninsula, across Denmark, the Baltic states, southern Scandinavia and large parts of western Russia.
- Outside Europe, May 2023 was drier than average over large areas of North America, central Russia, eastern and southeastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, most of southern Africa, Australia and South America.
- Areas that are wetter than normal include southeastern and southwestern North America, southeastern Africa, southern Brazil, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
Precipitation anomalies, surface air relative humidity, volumetric moisture content of the top 7 cm of soil and surface air temperature of maybe 2023 with respect In May averages for the period 1991-2020. Dark gray shading indicates places where soil moisture is not shown due to ice cover or climatically low precipitation. Data source: ERA5 Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF
State of sea ice in May 2023:
- For the third time in 2023, Antarctic sea ice extent has reached a record low monthly value for the season, 17% below average.
- Sea ice concentrations were mostly below average in the Weddell, Bellinghausen and northern Ross seas, while above average concentrations persisted in the Amundsen Sea.
- The extent of Arctic sea ice was very close to average and almost identical to the value recorded in May 2022.
- Anomalous levels of sea ice concentration dominated above-average levels in the Greenland Sea and lower-than-average levels in the Barents Sea.
A time series of the mean monthly deviations in Antarctic sea ice extent for all months of May from 1979 to 2023. Deviations are expressed as a percentage of May’s average Period 1991-2020. Data source: EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF / EUMETSAT.
Arctic Spring 2023 – Notable:
- The Arctic spring of 2023 was drier than average over the Iberian Peninsula and most of Eastern Europe. Conditions were wetter than normal across Iceland, Ireland, most of the United Kingdom, Italy, and most of central and southeastern Europe.
- Outside Europe, the Arctic spring was wetter than normal in the western and southeastern United States, across parts of the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and regions of central Asia, northern Australia, and western Africa. The rest of North America, most of South America, and most of southern Africa had drier than normal conditions.
Precipitation anomalies, surface air relative humidity, volumetric moisture content of the top 7 cm of soil and surface air temperature for Spring 2023 With respect In the mean spring values for the period 1991-2020. Dark gray shading indicates places where soil moisture is not shown due to ice cover or climatically low precipitation. Data source: ERA5 Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF
– end –
Video materials accompanying the maps are available here.
More information about February weather changes, climate updates from previous months, HD graphics and video can be downloaded here.
Answers to frequently asked questions about temperature monitoring Existing here.
Information about the C3S dataset and how to compile it.
Temperature and hydrology maps and data are from the ERA5 data of the ECMWF’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Sea ice maps and data are drawn from a combination of information from ERA5, as well as from EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1, Sea Ice Concentration CDR/ICDR v2 and fast-track data provided on request by OSI SAF.
The listed regional averages have the following latitude/longitude limits:
First Earth, 180W-180E, 90S-90N. In total.
Europe, 25W-40E, 34N-72N, Overland only.
More information is available here.
Information on national data and impact
Information on national data and impact is based on national and regional reports. For more details see each month’s temperature and hydrological C3S Climate Bulletin.
C3S followed the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recommendation to use the latest 30-year period for calculating climate averages and changed to the 1991-2020 reference period for C3S Climate Bullets covering January 2021 onwards. Figures and graphics for both the new and previous period (1981-2010) have been provided for the sake of transparency.
More information about the reference period used is available here.
About Copernicus and the ECMWF
Copernicus is part of the European Union’s space program, funded by the European Union, which is the flagship program for Earth observation. The company operates through six thematic services: Atmosphere, Marine, Land, Climate Change, Security and Emergencies. It offers freely available operational data and services that provide users with reliable and up-to-date information about our planet and its environment. The program is coordinated and managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Center for Medium Distance Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU agencies, Mercator Océan and others.
The ECMWF operates two services of the European Union’s Copernicus Earth Observing Programme: the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). They also contribute to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), which is implemented by the European Union Joint Research Council (JRC). The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organization supported by 35 countries. It is a 24/7 operational and research institute that produces and disseminates digital weather forecasts to its member states. This data is fully available to the national meteorological services of the Member States. The supercomputer facility (and associated data archive) at the ECMWF is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and member states can use 25 percent of its capacity for their own purposes.
ECMWF has expanded the number of locations in which it operates. In addition to the UK headquarters and computing center in Italy, new offices focusing on activities carried out in partnership with the European Union, such as Copernicus, will be located in Bonn, Germany.
Copernicus Atmosphere Observing Service Networkhttp://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/
Copernicus Climate Change Networkhttps://climate.copernicus.eu/
More information about Copernicus:www.copernicus.eu
ECMWF website:https://www.ecmwf.int/
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