Extreme temperatures of 2011: 7 national all-time heat records; 1 cold record
The year 2011 was the tenth warmest year on record for the globe, but the warmest year on record when a La Niña event was present (Ricky Rood has a discussion of this in his lastest post.) Seven nations and one territory broke all-time hottest temperature records. This is a far cry from 2010 (which tied for the warmest year on record), when twenty nations (plus one UK territory) set all-time hottest temperature records. One all-time coldest temperature record was set in 2011; this was the first time since 2009 one of these records was set. The all-time cold record occurred in Zambia, which ironically also set an all-time hottest temperature record in 2011. Here, then, are the most most notable extreme temperatures globally in 2011, courtesy of weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera:
Hottest temperature in the world in 2011: 53.3°C (127.9°F) in Mitrabah, Kuwait, August 3
Coldest temperature in the world in 2011: -80.2°C (-112.4°F) at Dome Fuji, Antarctica, September 18
Hottest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: 49.4°C (120.9°F) at Roebourne, Australia, on December 21
Coldest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: -67.2°C (-89°F) at Summit, Greenland, March 18. This is also the coldest March temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere.
Hottest undisputed 24-hour minimum temperature in world history: A minimum temperature of 41.7°C (107°F) measured at Khasab Airport in Oman on June 27
Figure 1. Seven countries and one territory set all-time hottest temperature records in 2011, and one nation set an all-time coldest temperature record. Image credit: Ilissa Ocko, Princeton University.
New country hottest temperature records set in 2011
Iraq recorded its hottest temperature on record on August 3, 2011 in Tallil (Ali military airbase), when the mercury hit 53°C (127.4°F). The previous record was 52.3°C recorded at Diwanya FOB airbase a few days before.
Armenia recorded its hottest temperature on record on July 31 in Meghri, when the mercury hit 43.7°C (110.7°F). The previous record was 43.1°C in Meghri on July 17, 2005.
Iran recorded its hottest temperature in its history on July 28, 2011, when the mercury hit 53°C (127.4°F) at Dehloran. The previous previous record was set just one day earlier at Omidieh and Shoshtar, when the mercury hit 52.6°C (126.6°F). Older hotter temperatures have been measured in Iran using automated stations, but these temperatures have been found to be overestimated.
Kuwait recorded its hottest temperature on record on August 3, 2011, when the mercury hit 53.3°C (127.9°F) at Mitrabah. The previous record was 53.1°C in Sulaibiya on June 15, 2010. The Kuwait Meteorological Center confirmed the reading as authentic, though the temperature sensor had problems between 2009 and July 2010. Some temperatures as high as 53.5°C measured at the Kuwait City Airport during 2011 were in error. The 53.3°C (127.9°F) at Mitrabah thus represents:
1) The hottest temperature measured on Earth in 2011
2) New official national record for Kuwait
3) Second highest (undisputed) temperature ever recorded in Asia
4) Highest temperature ever recorded in an Arabic country
5) Third hottest location in the planet together with Lake Havasu City, AZ (after Death
Valley, CA and Moenjodaro, Pakistan)
6) A new world record for August
China broke its national heat record for both uninhabited and inhabited locations on July 14, 2011, when the temperature soared to 50.2°C (122.4°F) at a automatic station near Adyngkol Lake (just south of Turfan), and 49.4°C (120.9°F) at the town of Tuyoq. A higher reading of 50.7°C at Aydingkol Mirabilite on 23 July 1986 has not been verified as official by the Chinese.
Republic of the Congo set a new all-time extreme heat record on March 8, 2011, when the temperature hit 39.2°C (102.6°F) at M'Pouya. Congo's previous all-time hottest temperature was 39.0°C (102.2°F) at Impfondo on May 14, 2005.
Zambia set an all-time national heat record of 109.0°F (42.8°C) at Mfuwe, on October 26, 2011, breaking the previous national record of 108.1°F (42.3°C) also set at Mfuwe, on November 17, 2010. A no longer functioning station at Lusitu, Zambia measured a higher temperature in November 1990, but surrounding stations were all about 10°C cooler, so the Lusitu 1990 reading is considered unreliable.
The French Southern and Antarctic Lands Territory tied its all-time hottest temperature record when Europa Island recorded 35.6°C (96.1°F) on November 12, 2011. The previous record was set at Juan de Nova Island on March 31, 1997.
New country coldest temperature records set in 2011
For the first time since 2009, a new national extreme cold temperature record was set. Zambia set an all-time national cold record of -9°C (16°F) at Choma on June 27, 2011, breaking the previous national record of -8°C (18°F), set on July 10, 1898, at Nalisa Western Province.
Special mention:
Russia had its hottest temperature on record at a regular synoptic reporting staion on July 30, 2011, when the mercury hit 44.3°C (111.7°F) at Divnoe in Russia's Kalmykia Republic. Three hotter temperatures have been recorded at automated stations: 45.4°C in 2010 at a hydrological station at Utta, plus readings of 45°C at El'ton and 44.5°C at Verhjnky Baskunkak in August 1940.
Weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera is the primary source of the weather records listed here and has worked tremendously hard to research them. He maintains a comprehensive list of extreme temperature records for every nation in the world on his website. If you reproduce this list of extremes, please cite Maximiliano Herrera as the primary source of the weather records.
Other posts looking back at the remarkable weather events of 2011
U.S. weather in 2011: unprecedented rains and wet/dry extremes
Top ten global weather events of 2011
2011: Year of the Tornado
Deadliest weather disaster of 2011: the East African drought
Tropical Storm Lee's flood in Binghamton: was global warming the final straw?
Wettest year on record in Philadelphia; 2011 sets record for wet/dry extremes in U.S.
Hurricane Irene: New York City dodges a potential storm surge mega-disaster
Figure 2. Portlight volunteers help distribute bottled water in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Weather Underground renews as National Sponsor of Portlight Disaster Relief
This week, wunderground put out a press release in concert with Portlight Strategies, Inc.--a national grassroots non-profit organization--that Weather Underground, Inc., will again be a National Sponsor of Portlight Disaster Relief.
Hundreds of members of the wunderground.com blog community have teamed with Portlight Strategies, Inc., throughout the last three and a half years to provide much needed relief services and supplies to victims and survivors of several natural disasters, both domestically and internationally.
These relief efforts focused on helping people with disabilities, as well as people in small towns and rural areas often marginalized by the larger institutional relief infrastructure.
Portlight Strategies, Inc., has committed to building on the stunning success of this collaborative, grassroots initiative.
"Weather Underground stepping up to be one of our National Sponsors again in 2012 is a huge honor", said Paul Timmons, Jr., Portlight Strategies, Inc., Board Chair.
"We are very pleased to continue our support of Portlight Strategies because they make a real difference to otherwise neglected communities that are affected by weather-related disasters around the globe", added Alan Steremberg, President and co-founder of Weather Underground.
Visit the Portlight blog on wunderground to learn more. Donations are always welcome!
Have a great weekend everyone, and I'll be back Monday with a new post.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 — Blog Index
maybe i should not have stomp on the ground so hard
January 15, 2012 – ANTARTICA - A strong and shallow series of earthquakes have erupted near the remote South Shetland Islands region of Antarctica on Sunday, experts from the U.S. Geological Survey said. The earthquakes in the intense tectonically-activated series measured a 6.6 magnitude, followed by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake and a 5.1 aftershock. The epicenter of the earthquakes was at various depths of from one kilometer (0.62 miles) to 14 km (9.2 miles) below the earth’s surface and some 464 kilometers west of Coronation Island in distance. No destructive tsunami was created, according to the U.S. NOAA warning center. The earthquake series is worrisome because it’s further evidence of what I have been warning about for over the past 6 months, that the Southern hemisphere, particularly around the periphery of Antarctic, is shows increasing signs of seismic destabilization. On January 12, there was a swarm of five moderate earthquakes which erupted south of Africa- the strongest of which was a 5.3 and a 5.5. On January 13, the South Sandwich Islands, north of Antarctica, was hit with a 5.1, and 5.2. On January 14 the region was struck again with a 5.0 earthquake and another 4.9 on January 15th. Not only are earthquakes increasing along the southern polar region but in November of 2011, the Tasmania’s Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem centre found that the South Ocean was storing more heat than any other ocean on the planet. The shape of the earth, a mal-formed spheroid, whose center of gravity is becoming increasing displaced by the turbulent shifting of the planet’s mass due to a wave of strong earthquakes that have rattled the planet over the last 7 years. These large mega-thrust earthquakes are exacting a terrible toll of stress on the planet’s angular momentum. In 2004, the planet suffered a devastating 9.1 mega-thrust earthquake in the Indian Ocean near the Sunda Strait. In February of 2010, Chile was rocked by a 8.8 magnitude earthquake and in March of 2011, Japan was similarly hit with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. In April of 2011, the European satellite Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer, or GOCE released a detailed map of Earth’s gravity field.
Sooooooo..... What does this mean? And how many time have you watched the movie 2012??
MSLP
I used to see 'em at the old 40 Watt Club in Athens before they hit...my favorite REM story involves me, my friend Tim, a couple of French girls and..........nevermind...
Link
On a related subject ... interesting news into research on medical uses of parasitic worms-------------->
Gause said that what occurs in mice from N. brasiliensis perhaps occurs in humans exposed to parasitic worms. If so, these worms could be more effective than some drugs at triggering the immune response to cure the body from within.
"This orchestrated enhanced wound-healing response, which includes control of harmful inflammation and direct mediation of wound repair, may have evolved in the host to mitigate harmful effects of the considerable acute tissue damage these large multicellular parasites can cause as they migrate through essential organs," Gause told LiveScience.
"In this regard, these parasites or parasite products may potentially be used to treat acute lung injury."
The use of helminths, or parasitic worms, to treat immune disorders is called helminthic therapy, and it is not new. Promising studies are underway using live worms to treat several inflammatory diseases and autoimmune disorders such as Crohn's disease. These studies involve non-human parasites, most commonly Trichuris suis, a type of whipworm in pigs.
Helminthic therapy builds upon the hygiene hypothesis, which states that a decrease in the exposure to worms, bacteria and other parasites in developed nations has led to an increase in autoimmune disorders such as allergies and asthma.
Tropical Cyclone Advisory #4
DEPRESSION SUBTROPICALE DANDO (06-20112012)
22:00 PM RET January 15 2012
=======================================
At 18:00 PM UTC, Subtropical Depression Dando (995 hPa) located at 27.0S 37.4E has 10 minute sustained winds of 40 knots with gusts of 60 knots. The depression is reported as moving west at 13 knots.
Dvorak Intensity: NIL
Gale Force Winds
================
40 NM and 80 NM from the center in the southern semi-circle
Near Gale Force Winds
========================
60 NM from the center extending up to 100 NM in the southeastern quadrant and up to 130 NM in the southwestern quadrant
Forecast and Intensity
=======================
12 HRS: 25.7S 34.8E - 45 knots (Depression Subtropicale)
24 HRS: 24.8S 33.3E - 25 knots (Depression sur Terre)
48 HRS: 23.7S 31.7E - 20 knots (Depression se comblant)
Additional Information
======================
Subtropical depression 06R has been named Dando at 1500 PM UTC by weather service of Madagascar. System still keeps subtropical characteristics. Winds field is asymmetric, clouds tops are relatively warm and maximum winds radius is large. Last satellite imagery shows that convection is wrapping close to the center with a band closer than one degree. Upper level divergence is good with a well poleward outflow.
For the next 24 hours, numerical weather prediction models are in fairly good agreement for a west northwestward track under the steering influence of the low to mid-level strengthening high pressures centered over south of South Africa. Consequently, system is forecast to make landfall on the coast of the south Mozambique Monday before the end of the day.
On its track, system is expected to encounter good environmental conditions for intensification and should take a tropical structure before the landfall: favorable oceanic heat content, weak vertical wind shear and good upper level divergence with persistence of a poleward outflow. From Monday to Tuesday or Wednesday, heavy rains might occur over the south of Mmozambique. Afternoon tomorrow, strong winds (gusts Over 100 km/h) are expected, mainly south of landfall area.
OK...I don't care who you are....that right there is funny...
Bigfoot was interviewed about making those noises in Russia, and he said his noises were taken out of context.
Keep, Have you got a link to Mr. Hendrix's, 3rd stone from the sun?
About the same sort of sounds though, musically.
Best I can do:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_FLmGUT_5Q
I don't know from your post here who wrote the editorial?
If it was you well done.
A few days ago somebody linked a thing to do with ongoing global disasters etc, {as they do,} well I had lost it, so it was a pleasure to reconnect. Now if you care to probe its maps and don't touch the scroll wheel, as it messes everything up, then you notice that there has been an enormous amount of low level earthquakes in the lower Europe/upper Mediterranean to Gulf area. I was inclined to dismiss this as I do but they have been having lots of 4+ events there, whats more they also have volcanic activity in the Med.
Not being a grey pony tail dreamer, or badly affected by crystals, tea leafs, or hand palms etc. I do feel that any abnormal earth movement activity in any area of the globe is worth at the least noting, if not investigating.
Point well taken, hydrus. Be back later. Headed to Academy to get some new cleats. ... Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I wonder if they have the Ty Cobb cleats available?
perhaps,perhaps not
nothing more but a game
lets finish the game
TRMM caught it through the COC yesterday..
wxgeek723 ~ need to start think of this blog as apocalypse desensification.
orca a member of the underground knows exactly what it is well maybe tommorow he will
lol
The world will never end.
only the way we know it will.
I see we are still debating AGW and apocalyptic predictions.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/15/1984613/ harsh-alaska-winter-leads-to-fuel.html
Was surprised how much rain what little convection it had was dropping. Click on the TRMM pic I posted for the quicktime movie. Alot of it is moderate to heavy rain.
I think that's my new home page.
C'n hardly blame folks for bein' anxious. Let your attention wander for a moment, and ...zoom... the Apocalyse whizzes past and you've missed it entirely.
Then ya gotta wait for the next one. Which sucks, cuz they're worse'n buses when it comes to keeping schedule.
I am somewhat surprised that Zombies would rate so low on this chart. Obviously some on my ex in-laws were not fully accounted for?
Normal track
Enhanced track
Viewing: 401 - 451
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 — Blog Index