World of the Weather

Climate change doesn't mean it's always hot outside, or that every year will necessarily be hotter than the next. That said, most of the coolest temperatures occurred before 1950, while temperatures have gotten increasingly warm over the past few decades, most notably since the turn of the century. You can use the following visualization to see changes through time in world temperatures from 1880 to the present. The strip charts below each line chart show anomalies from the historical averages for the chart above it. Hover over or swipe a graph to see details for that month. Note: dotted yellow lines in graphs indicate the historic average for the chart in question.

If you'd like to see a more detailed weather history for the United States see the companion site, State of the Weather.

Selected Month: January

Average World Temperature

(Historical Avg: degrees Celsius)

World temperatures are an amalgam of land and ocean temperatures. Land temperatures tend to vary considerably from month to month While, ocean temperatures tend to remain fairly stable resulting in much warmer world temperatures on average in the northern hemisphere winter, and cooler temperatures on average in the northern hemisphere summer, than if land temperatures are considered by themselves.

Overall, The hottest average world temperature for was in when the average temperature was degrees Celsius.The coolest average world temperature for was in when the average temperature was degrees Celsius.

Average Land Temperature

(Historical Avg: degrees Celsius)

Land temperatures tend to be colder and show much more variability than overall world temperatures as a whole, and ocean temperatures in particular which act as the great world temperature moderator. Overall, you'll notice a distinct upward trend in the temperatures on land.

The hottest average land temperature for was in when the average land temperature was degrees Celsius. The coolest average land temperature for was in when the average land temperature was degrees Celsius.

Average Ocean Temperature

(Historical Avg: degrees Celsius)

Overall, ocean temperatures vary very little and are much warmer than land temperatures as a rule. However, you'll notice a discernible upward trend over time.

The hottest monthly average ocean temperature for was in when the average minimum temperature was degrees Celsius. The coldest monthly average ocean temperature for on record was in when the average temperature was degrees Celsius.

Anomalies data and historical averages data courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.