Fifth warmest March since 1880

The absolute values of deviation tell us how much warmer a place was than is usual for it, which can have both short-term and long-term effects on, say, crops or the way people live. However, for some places the absolute values of deviation may not tell us how exceptional the temperature in a particular year was. Ranks can help us see that.

Despite a lower deviation than the northern hemisphere, for example, the March 2022 average temperature in the southern hemisphere was the sixth highest since 1880, not any less exceptional than the northern hemisphere, which saw the fifth warmest March. The global average was also the fifth highest. Similarly, although India did not see as big a deviation as its neighbours, it experienced its own second hottest March by average temperatures. China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Philippines, and Pakistan experienced their hottest March ever.

What makes this unusually warm March even more exceptional is that it followed long-term trends despite La Nina conditions (a cold current in the south Pacific that is associated with lower temperatures in the northern hemisphere). "At the global scale, the temperatures are rising regardless of the state of the tropical Pacific. The La Nina/El Nino events modulate things a little, but the trends are clear regardless," said Gavin Schmidt director of GISS. How did that happen? Consistent global warming and local atmospheric conditions could have both had a role to play, although a definitive answer will require a more thorough analysis of specific regions, said DS Pai, director of Institute for Climate Change Studies, Kerala. For example, he cited the lack of western disturbances, clear skies, and north-westerly winds bringing warm air for the warmer than usual March in India. OP Sreejith, head of the Climate Monitoring and Prediction Group at IMD Pune echoed these views.

RANK OF MARCH 2022 COMPARED TO ALL AVAILABLE MARCH SINCE 1880