Tom Di Liberto | NOAA Climate.gov

Eighth-warmest December on record helps 2020 end as second-hottest year on record

January 15, 2021

Despite the influence of La Niña, December 2020 was the eighth-hottest December on record helping 2020 become the second-hottest year on record.

January 2021 outlook: wetter and warmer than average for much of the United States

January 4, 2021

January 2021 is favored to be wetter and warmer than average for much of the country.

November 2020: The year is ending as it began, on a hot streak

December 15, 2020

November 2020 was the second-warmest November on record, which increases 2020's chance of becoming the warmest year on record to over 50%.

Spherical map of the Arctic showing sea surface temperature trends from 1982-2020

2020 adds another year of extreme warmth to warming trend in Arctic Ocean

December 8, 2020

August sea surface temperatures in the Arctic are rising by as much as 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade.

Fire fuels in high northern latitudes are becoming more flammable

December 8, 2020

The taiga is becoming more flammable, increasing the risk for intense wildfires—some so intense they overwinter in deep ash pits and re-emerge the following spring.

December 2020 outlook: warmer and drier than average for most of the U.S.

December 1, 2020

December 2020 and the start of the 2020-2021 winter looks warmer and drier than average for much of the country.

Spherical map of the Arctic showing surface temperature anomalies in 2020

2020 Arctic Report Card: Climate.gov visual highlights

December 8, 2020

The 15^th installment of NOAA's Arctic Report Card NOAA’s 15th Arctic Report Card catalogs the numerous ways that climate change continues to disrupt the polar region.