August global surface TempLS down 0.057°C from July.

The TempLS mesh anomaly (1961-90 base) was 0.772deg;C in August vs 0.829°C in July. This contrasts with the 0.017°C rise in the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis base index. This makes it the second warmest August in the record, after 2016.

After three months of rise, SST was down by a little. There was a large cold blob NE of Japan. Eurpoe was warm, except for Russia, but Siberia was mostly warm. The US was mixed, NW Canada cold. Antarctica was mostly warm. Africa was warm, and made the largest contribution to the global warmth.

Here is the temperature map, using the LOESS-based map of anomalies.

This post is part of a series that has now run since 2011. The TempLS mesh data is reported here, and the recent history of monthly readings is here. Unadjusted GHCN is normally used, but if you click the TempLS button there, it will show data with adjusted, and also with different integration methods. There is an interactive graph using 1981-2010 base period here which you can use to show different periods, or compare with other indices. There is a general guide to TempLS here.

The reporting cycle starts with a report of the daily reanalysis index on about the 4th of the month. The next post is this, the TempLS report, usually about the 8th. Then when the GISS result comes out, usually about the 15th, I discuss it and compare with TempLS. The TempLS graph uses a spherical harmonics to the TempLS mesh residuals; the residuals are displayed more directly using a triangular grid in a better resolved WebGL plot here.

A list of earlier monthly reports of each series in date order is here:

1. NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis report
2. TempLS report
3. GISS report and comparison with TempLS