2019 ranking as the third hottest year across the globe

When we look local and even national we will notice that the heat has not been too crazy this year so far.

South Bend’s temperature average is 1.6 degrees colder than normal since January. Even the weeks of heat we have had this summer has not offset the frigid cold January temps and cool spring temps. The United States has had normal heat so far this year, with a temperature average of only .08 degrees warmer than normal.

Neither of these stats are concerning, and if we looked only locally, we would think that nothing is changing. That is why it is important to look big picture, in this case, globally.

So far, this year has been the third hottest year on record for the world, and the past five years have all ranked as the top five hottest. One spot that hit a surprising record high is Anchorage, Alaska, with a high of ninety degrees on July 4^th, beating the previous record by five degrees. France has also been in headlines for the hot temperatures. A new national record temperature was set of forty-six Celsius, or 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit, which was reached on July 28th in southern France.

Other countries that broke new national record high temperatures this summer have been in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. This means that while the high heat may not noticeable to us at times, the warm air masses are still circulating the globe. These records are being set at high latitudes, which is causing arctic sea ice to melt at a higher rate.