MAIN WEATHER AND CLIMATE TRAITS IN THE NORTHEN HEMISPHERE AS OF NOVEMBER 2021

Air Temperature

In the north of the ETR, cold weather changed to abnormal warmth at the beginning of November and remained warm until the middle of the month. The rest of the ETR received even more heat (resulting in the anomalies of up to +3…5°) in the first decade. Nevertheless, colds on some days did take place there: -25° frosts were already observed in the north, and cold spells were noted in the Black Earth region, in the North Caucasus and in the Crimea. In the second decade, the temperature became normal in the central region or even lower than that in the south. But in the third decade, the heat triumphed again. Positive anomalies reached 2-3°, and new daily temperature maxima were set in the midland part (Ryazan and Moscow Regions, etc.). Bitter colds came to the north of the ETR at the end of the month. In the Arctic zone, the average air temperature in the third decade was 3-5° below the normal value.
In the vast territory from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean, especially in Siberia and in the Far East, the month was warmer than usual almost everywhere apart from the extreme north-east of the country. In Yakutia, in the Trans-Baikal and Cis-Baikal Territories, in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and in the Republics of Tyva and Altai, new daily temperature maxima were recorded – for several days in succession sometimes. As a rule, the decade-averaged temperatures were 5-10 or more degrees higher than normal. At the same time, the air temperature on some days already dropped as low as -40° in Yakutia or -35° in Chukotka.

As a result, the monthly-averaged air temperature exceeded its normal value by 2-3° in the central part of the ETR, and by 5-8° in Yakutia or in the Far East. As for the whole country, the average air temperature in November was among the Top Ten highest in the history of meteorological observations. The same result was achieved for the Asian Territory separately, while in the south of the Far East, this temperature regained its absolute maximum first set in 2013.
Autumn 2021 should be attributed to warm ones. Its average temperature took the position right below the first five highest in the ranking list (which was also true for the Asian Territory alone), while in the south of the Far East, this average along with the November average reproduced the record-breaking values of the previous year. Thus, the unprecedented warmth in autumn has been observed for two years in a row in the south of the Far East. The average temperature of autumn was higher than normal in almost the entire territory of Russia: by 2-4 or more degrees in the areas from the Northern Urals to Yakutia and to the south of the Far East, including most of the Krasnoyarsk and Trans-Baikal Territories. This autumn was colder than usual in Chukotka and in the North Caucasus only.
In Mongolia, in the east of China, and in the north of Japan and Korea, this November was in overall warmer than usual, by 2-3 or more degrees in places, whereas in the centre and south of Japan, in the south of Korea and in most of China, the monthly-averaged temperature was close to its normal value or somewhat lower than that.
The situation was similar in most of South-East Asia. The north of Thailand and the north of the Philippines were the only areas where the weather was remarkably warmer than usual.
In the centre, south and north-west of India, the monthly-averaged air temperature was close to normal against a generally positive background, while in the north-east of the country, it was also close to normal but against a generally negative background this time. This November in India entered the Top Ten warmest in the history of meteorological observations.
In the Middle East, the monthly-averaged temperature was 1-3° higher than normal. The same was true for the southern regions of Iran, but in the north of this country, the monthly-averaged air temperature was either sub-normal, or close to normal.
November in most of North Africa was noticeably warmer than usual. Its temperature was ranked the third to fifth highest in the history of the region. In Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, in most of Algeria, and from the areas south of it to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, the monthly-averaged temperature was 2-3 or more degrees higher than normal. The month was colder than usual in Morocco and in the west of Algeria only, much colder in some of these locations (with the anomalies reaching -3 ... -7 °).
Cold weather dominated in November all over Central Asia excluding the north-western regions of Kazakhstan. The anomalies of monthly-averaged temperature were -2°. Yet, warm days were also in place, and on such days, new daily temperature maxima were established, as it happened in the east of Kazakhstan for example.
In the east and south-east of Europe, very high air temperatures were sometimes recorded in early November, in excess of the daily maxima in certain locations. Abnormal heat came to the north of the continent in the middle of the month to set up new temperature maxima in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK. Still, temperatures close to normal prevailed in the continent for most of November. Hence, the monthly averages were also about normal in most countries, with the exception of the east (the Baltic countries, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and East Germany) and north (Norway, Sweden, Scotland and the Netherlands) where this month was 1.5-2.0° warmer than usual. At the same time, the weather in the west (Switzerland, France, Spain and Portugal) was colder than normal by the same 1.5-2.0° exactly.
November in North America was very warm. For example, it was among the ten warmest in the US history. The normal temperatures were exceeded by 2-3 or more degrees in the western United States, and by 4-6 or more degrees in the north of Canada. Everywhere from California to Texas, this November was the second warmest in the meteorological chronicles. The weather colder than usual was only observed in the east and south-east of the US (by 2° or more), and especially in Alaska (anomalies down to -8°). In the latter northernmost state of the USA, November 2021 was among the 15 coldest in history, i.e., for 131 years.
Regarding the Northern Hemisphere as a whole, the average air temperature in November was below the Top Three highest in the ranking list. The average temperature of autumn was also at this position. The weather was noticeably warmer than usual in North America, where the normal autumn values were exceeded by 2° in Mexico or most of the US and Canada, and by 4-6° in the north of Canada. Autumn 2021 was the warmest in the history of Canada, and the third warmest in the history of the USA. Its average temperature was noticeably higher than normal in North Africa (namely, it was the second highest in the history of meteorological observations), partly in the Middle East, as well as in China and Japan.
This year, the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic was ice-locked fairly ahead of the climate. The past summer and autumn in the Arctic were not so warm as in the previous years. The annual minimum of the area occupied by ice turned out to be only the twelfth smallest for 43 years of observations. The ice growth rate in autumn was notably higher than normal.
In Moscow, the average temperature in November was +2.3°, implying an anomaly of +3.5°. Thereby, the month hit the Top Ten warmest in the 131-year history of observations.

Sea Surface Temperature

In the Pacific Ocean, the return to La Niña has indeed taken place as was expected in the October survey. During three month (September to November), the mean anomaly in the zone formally called El Niño was less than -0.5°. In the equatorial zone of the Northern Hemisphere, abnormally cold water occupied the water areas from 160E to the coast of North America, while in the Southern Hemisphere, the areas far south to the coast of Chile. The mean SST anomaly in the Northern Hemisphere was the same as in October, but less than in November 2020. In addition to the equatorial zone, negative anomalies in the Pacific Ocean were observed along the coasts of the USA and Canada. Positive anomalies of +2…3° and above dominated in the central part of the Ocean. Also, positive anomalies of up to +1° were observed along the Asian coast.
Water in the Atlantic Ocean was very warm. The average anomaly regained the absolute maximum of 1998. Almost no negative SST anomalies were recorded. In the central part of the Ocean, the anomalies reached +1…+2° and more. Along the coast of North America or in the Mediterranean and Baltic seas, they were about the same.

Precipitation

November brought a lot of precipitation to Russia. In at least one constituent entity of each federal district, the monthly precipitation totals exceeded the normal values. For example, this happened in all entities of the North-West Federal District apart from the Kaliningrad Region and the Nenets Autonomous District. In St. Petersburg, the normal monthly precipitation amount was almost reached in the first decade already. In the north of the region, a stable snow cover formed as early as in the first days of the month, and snow covered the Novgorod, Pskov and Vologda Regions at the end of November when the intensity of precipitation was 20 mm per day.
The precipitation totals everywhere in the Central Federal District with the exception of the Belgorod region reached the normal figure, or exceeded it: e.g., by more than 1.5 times in the Tver region. In the last days of November, snowfalls of up to 30 mm/day intensity hit the Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, Smolensk, Moscow and Kostroma Regions. The monthly precipitation totals in all constituent entities of the Volga Federal District were either normal, or increased, by more than 1.5 times in the Republic of Mari El. Heavy snowfalls took place in the Volga region in the middle of the month. The height of freshly fallen snow reached 20cm.
The precipitation quantities in the south of the ETR (in the South and North-Caucasian Federal Districts were less impressive, but even there, rains with snow brought up to 30 mm of precipitation for a couple of days to the Krasnodar Territory, the Rostov, Volgograd and Astrakhan Regions, and the Republic of Kalmykia. In the South Federal District, the normal precipitation amounts were achieved everywhere, whereas in the North-Caucasian one, only in the Chechen Republic, with the other republics demonstrating sub-normal figures.
In the Urals, the precipitation amounts were less than normal in the south and close to normal in the north.
In Siberia, the amounts were 1.5–2.0 times greater than usual in the Novosibirsk Region, in the Altai Territory and in Taimyr, and about normal in the rest of the territory.
Precipitation was abundant in the Far Eastern Federal District, especially in its south: the normal figures were exceeded by 1.5 times in the Republic of Buryatia as well as in the Sakhalin and Magadan Regions, and by 2-3 times in the south of the Khabarovsk Territory, in the Jewish Autonomous Region and in the Primorye Territory. The unprecedented amounts resulting in new daily maxima were recorded in Yakutia. The Chukotka Autonomous District was the only area to receive very scarce precipitation, less than 10% of the normal monthly amount in some places.
Heavy snowfalls repeatedly hit the northern and, most severely, north-eastern regions of China. First intensive snowfalls in Beijing as well as in the Shanxi and Liaodong provinces were observed in early November already, i.e., some 20 days ahead of the climate. The height of the snow cover reached 20-40 cm. There, the monthly precipitation totals were 2-3 times the normal values. The precipitation amounts were normal or increased in the south-east of China, but in the rest of the country, the weather was mostly dry. A lot of precipitation went to the central and northern regions of Japan. The strongest snowfalls covered the ground with up to 60-80 cm of snow in three days, and were recognised as record-breaking ones in history. There, the normal monthly amounts were exceeded by 1.5-2.5 times.
Precipitation on the continental part of South-East Asia was scarce, with no precipitation at all observed in November in many places. Yet, occasional rains did fell. In the middle of the month, heavy rains covered Thailand and brought up to a half of the normal monthly rainfall amount for a single day in some locations. In the south of Vietnam, downpours caused floods and landslides in the end of the month, releasing 700-800 mm or more of atmospheric moisture in certain places. The insular part of this region (Indonesia and Philippines) received not less than normal rainfall amounts. Heavy rains caused floods and landslides on the island of Java (Indonesia); in the Philippines, the situation was similar, but the reason was different: the tropical storm Kompasu rather than a regular seasonal phenomenon as in Java.
In India, virtually no precipitation in the north contrasted with its large amounts in the southern regions where the normal monthly figures were exceeded by 2-5 times. Downpours and floods affected the residents of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh. In the city of Chennai, 230 mm of rainwater fell on November 11, and 810 mm in the period of November 1–12; the latter figure is twice greater than the normal monthly amount. The daily precipitation maximum was also overridden in Sri Lanka: now it is 300 mm per day.
In the Near and Middle East, the weather was mostly dry, with no precipitation at all in many regions. However, occasional torrential rains did take place. At the beginning of the month, they caused devastating landslides in Oman, in the middle, they hit Israel where more than 50 mm of precipitation fell per day leading to floods in a number of settlements and causing numerous road accidents, and at the end of the month, torrential rains covered Istanbul and brought 25 mm of atmospheric moisture during a single day.
The weather was dry in most of Central Asia. No precipitation at all was observed in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The north of Kazakhstan was the only region to receive normal or increased precipitation amounts. Snow came as early as in the middle of November; a snow cyclone swept across Kazakhstan and brought up to 25 cm of snow, disrupting the operation of airports and of public transport. Snow fell in Tajikistan as well.
As usual, most of North Africa received virtually no atmospheric moisture, with the exception of Algeria, Morocco and the countries of the Gulf of Guinea where its monthly totals were normal, or above-normal in places. Heavy rains pelted in Egypt, and snow fell in Algeria and Morocco.
On the European continent, southern countries were the only ones to get a lot of precipitation: heavy rains hit the Balkans, the south of Italy including Sicily and Sardinia, Malta and the north of Spain, and led to large-scale floods and landslides. In some places, up to 100-150 mm of daily precipitation was recorded. Partial flooding of certain settlements was reported. Snow fell in mountains located in the north of Italy as well as in Spain and Portugal. The normal precipitation amounts in these territories were exceeded by 2 or more times. The precipitation quantities in the Baltic countries were close to normal. But in most of Europe, the monthly totals were sub- normal, especially in the north of the continent.
In the USA, the weather was very dry almost everywhere. A common outcome was a few tenths of the normal precipitation figure, but no precipitation at all was observed in the south-western state of California which hosted a drought again. In Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, this November was among the five driest in history. Heavy rains fell only in the north-west of the country (in the states of Washington and Oregon) where more than 100 mm of daily rainwater was measured in places, and new daily maxima were recorded. But the neighbouring Canadian province of British Columbia got even more precipitation: 180 mm per day in Vancouver, and 230-300mm in some other places. This resulted in numerous floods and landslides that destroyed water treatment plants and left people without potable water. Highways were damaged and railway traffic, disrupted. According to local experts, such floods occur once in 500 years. The normal precipitation rates in some parts of British Columbia were exceeded by 3-4 times. The rest of Canada also got fair precipitation totals in normal or increased amounts as a rule. Rains were prolific in the central regions of Mexico where the normal monthly quantities were exceeded by 2-4 times in places.
In Moscow, 79 mm of precipitation fell in November. This is the tenth highest figure in the meteorological chronicle of the capital, corresponding to the anomaly of 134%.