GISS October global down by 0.09°C from September.

The GISS V4 land/ocean temperature anomaly was 0.9°C in October 2020, down from 0.99°C in September. That compares with a 0.154deg;C fall  in the TempLS V4 mesh index. It was the fourth warmest October in the record (shared with 2017).

Jim Hansen's update, with many more details, is here. He thinks that it is likely that 2020 will equal 2016 as hottest year. For those who like that sort of thing, there is a betting market on that "horse race" here.

As usual here, I will compare the GISS and earlier TempLS plots below the jump.

October global surface TempLS down 0.153°C from September.

The TempLS mesh anomaly (1961-90 base) was 0.705deg;C in October vs 0.858°C in September. This drop was greater than the drop in the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis base index, which was 0.072°C. The UAH satellite data for the lower troposphere fell by only 0.03°C.

It was the coolest month since November 2018.

There was a cool region in Canada and central USA, and another band from Iran to China, via central Asia. Antarctica was more cool than warm. There was a big warm area across Eurasia and the adjacent Arctic, down through E Europe, Near East and into Egypt. Another warm area in central S America.

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


As always, the 3D globe map gives better detail.

NCEP/NCAR reanalysis October 2020 surface temperature down 0.072°C from September.

The Moyhu NCEP/NCAR index came in at 0.278°C in October, following 0.35°C in September, on a 1994-2013 anomaly base. That is still the second warmest month since May.

The main warm area was the Arctic adjacent to Siberia, and also a band through East Europe and the Near East. North America was cool, and also a band through central Asia, from Iran to China. The SE Pacific was also cool.