MAIN WEATHER AND CLIMATE TRAITS IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AS OF JUNE 2024

Air Temperature

Warm weather observed in the ETR at the end of spring remained warm with the beginning of summer. In the south, it can be even considered exceedingly warm owing to new daily temperature maxima over 35-36° in Crimea, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Krasnodar Territory as well as in the Rostov, Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions. The decade-averaged temperatures were 3-4° higher than normal. Roughly the same anomalies were recorded in the central and northern regions of the ETR, along with new maxima in the Vologda, Kostroma and Moscow Regions.

In the second decade, the heat intensified, and occupied almost the entire European territory, with the decade-averaged temperature anomalies in excess of 4-7° and the record-breaking warmth now observed not only in the south where it came earlier, but also in the Middle and Lower Volga as well as in the Cis-Ural region: there, new daily temperature maxima were set as well.

Colds descended upon the ETR in the third decade when the air temperature became either close to normal or, for the most part, lower than that everywhere with the exception of the westernmost territories of the country: 2-3 or more degrees lower in some places.

In the Urals, the weather in the first decade was somewhat cooler than usual, while in the second and third decades, it was colder than normal in the north but warmer than normal in the south.

In the Asian Territory of Russia, the weather was either abnormally cold or close to normal for most of June. At the beginning of the month, frosts down to -1…-4° were reported in the south-west of Siberia and in the Khabarovsk Territory. In the second decade, frosts came to the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and to Sakhalin, and new daily temperature minima were set there in some locations. At the end of the month, the weather in Western Siberia was hot, with the air heated up to 40 or more degrees sometimes. Even in Evenkiya in the north, the thermometers would rise to +37°, resulting in new temperature maxima.

Yet eventually, these colds were defeated by the warmth, and the average temperature in June took the fourth position among those recorded since 1891. Moreover, this June in the ETR was the third warmest in the history of regular meteorological observations (June 2021 and June 1989 were the only warmer ones), and was also the third warmest in the Southern Federal District.

The ETR as a whole was heated significantly higher than normal (by 2-3 or more degrees); the same was true for the north and for the central part of Yakutia. In the Far East and in the north of the Urals, the weather was colder than usual, two or more degrees colder in some places.

In East and South-East Asia, abnormally warm weather prevailed for most of the month, and the monthly-averaged air temperature was above-normal almost everywhere. In China, this June was the third warmest in the history of meteorological observations, yielding only to the Junes of the previous year and of the year before.

The monthly-averaged temperature in India was slightly higher than normal, and the anomalies were also positive almost everywhere save for the south-eastern part of the country. The heat was unprecedented at the beginning of the month when the thermometer readings sometimes rose above +50°, and new temperature maxima were recorded – most frequently, in the east of the country.

Similarly, the heat reigned in the Near East. In the UAE, the air temperature could exceed +50°, and the government forced a midday break for outdoor works from 12:30 to 15:00. The monthly-averaged temperature in this region was 2-4 or more degrees higher than normal.

The heat in Central Asia remained record-breaking for the entire month, with new temperature maxima in the Central Asian republics and thermometer readings above 40-44° now and then. The monthly-averaged temperature was above-normal everywhere, two or more degrees above in a large area.

As in the previous months, outstanding heat invaded North Africa where the normal temperatures were exceeded by 2-4 or more degrees in most of the region.

The all-time June heat was also reported in the east of Europe, with numerous new temperature maxima in the Balkans, in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and North Macedonia. This July, the air temperature in Greece and Cyprus remained above forty degrees for many days in a row, and new temperature maxima were set. In contrast, the monthly-averaged air temperature in the west, primarily in the UK and in France, was subnormal, i.e., the month was colder than usual, and in Central Europe located between these foci of warmth and cold, the temperature was normal.

In the US, hot weather with the temperatures higher than +40° dominated in the west and south-west – in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and Kansas. The US meteorological service claimed that the air temperature in Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, was the highest in history. The normal monthly-averaged air temperatures in this region and in the north-east of the country alike were exceeded by two or more degrees. In the rest of the US, the monthly-averages were close to normal, as in most of Canada where the anomalies above +2° were only observed in the east. This June was the hottest in the history of meteorological observations in the US, and among the top ten hottest in Canada.

As for the entire Northern Hemisphere, the average air temperature reached a new maximum value.

In Moscow, the monthly-averaged temperature was 19.9° implying an anomaly of +2.6°, so that this June was among the top ten warmest in the meteorological chronicle of the capital.

Sea Surface Temperature

After the end of El Niño in May, a neutral phase of the Southern Oscillation was observed in the equatorial zone of the Pacific Ocean, and will probably change to La Niña due to active generation of abnormally cold water along the equator. The latter interrupted the eight-month series of the highest monthly-averaged SST of the Pacific Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere. This time, it was the second highest after June 2020. Positive SST anomalies were measured in the sub-equatorial belt in the western part of the Ocean, as well as at the subtropical latitudes in its central part. Abnormally cold water was primarily observed in the north of the Ocean.

As for the Atlantic Ocean, its maximum monthly-averaged SST was recorded again, for the eighteenth month in succession already. Almost the entire water area in the Northern Hemisphere was occupied by positive SST anomalies, with the highest ones (up to and exceeding +2…3°) at the tropical and temperate latitudes. The temperatures in the marginal European seas were also above-normal, e.g., two or more degrees above in the east of the Mediterranean sea. As in the Pacific Ocean, abnormally cold water was reported off the coasts of Greenland and Iceland in the north.

Precipitation

The shortage of precipitation in basically dry May in the ETR was amply compensated in June, at least in the northern and central regions. This month, precipitation reached its normal amounts in the North-West Federal District, exceeded them by 1.5-2.0 or more times in the Central one, was close to normal in the Volga Federal District or above-normal in the Cis-Urals, and was lacking in the Southern and North-Caucasian Federal Districts only. Scarce precipitation in the south of Russia was observed for the third month in succession. In mid-June, rains hit Central Russia bringing up to 20-40 mm of rainwater per day or up to its normal monthly quantity for several days in some places. During the same period, heavy rains of intensity up to 20 mm/day were pelting in the Volgograd Region, in Dagestan and in Crimea. In the last decade, rains in the Urals and Cis-Urals delivered up to 25-45 mm of atmospheric moisture in a single day, and new daily maxima of precipitation totals were recorded in Central Russia, in the north-east and south of the ETR and in the Urals.

The monthly precipitation figures in the Urals and in most of Siberia were about normal everywhere except for the southern regions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Irkutsk Region and the Republic of Tyva were they were lacking. In the third decade, heavy rains passed over the south of Siberia. In some areas of the Novosibirsk Region and of the Kuznetsk Basin, up to 50 mm of rain accumulated in a single day, and up to 1.5 times the normal monthly quantity, in a few days.

A half of the normal precipitation quantity fell in the Republic of Sakha (also known as Yakutia) located in the Far Eastern Federal District, a third, in Chukotka, and the normal or increased amount elsewhere: 1.5 times the normal amount or more in Primorye, on Sakhalin, in the Magadan Region and along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. In Primorye, up to 35-50 mm of rainwater fell per day in some places, and the rivers overflowed their banks.

Showers inundated a large part of China and the countries of the South-East Asia. The monthly precipitation totals in China, except for the north-western regions, were normal or greater than normal, up to two normal amounts or more in the south of China. In the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, rains boosted the river levels, thereby resulting in floods: more than 350 mm of precipitation, i.e., over 20% of the normal annual quantity, was recorded per day in some places. In the last days of the month, pelting rains hit South Korea and Indochina, also leading to floods.

India was deluged with monsoon rains that brought 148 mm of rainwater in three hours to Delhi and drowned the capital, disrupting traffic circulation and paralysing the airport. Other areas of the country were damaged as well, most severely, the north-eastern state of Assam and the Himalayan foothills. The monthly precipitation totals were three or more times greater than normal in the north of the country, and either normal or above-normal in the country as a whole. The normal values were significantly exceeded in neighbouring Pakistan, by 2-3 times in some places.

The weather in the countries of Central Asia and of the Near and Middle East was generally dry.

The same was true for most of North Africa where precipitation was normal or above that in the south-west only. The downpours caused floods and landslides in Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire. The local weather service stated that the daily precipitation exceeded 200 mm in some regions; the fatalities were reported.

In Europe, most rains fell in the central, western and northern territories in normal or above-normal quantities, whereas in the eastern and especially in south-eastern ones, precipitation was scarce. At the beginning of the month, rains caused floods in the south of Germany and in Austria, and in mid-June, they hit the east of Spain (the province of Valencia) where up to 60 mm of precipitation could fall for a few hours in some places; the rivers overflowed their banks and halted transport communications. Heavy rains at the end of the month led to floods in the west of France and in Switzerland, resulting in more than 50 mm of precipitation totals per hour in some places. In Italy, a prolonged drought continued.

The weather in most of Canada was dry, while in the US, the phenomenon called "historic flooding" by the mass media took place in the Midwest owing to rains with the monthly rainwater totals 3-4 times greater than the normal figures. Heavy rains fell in Florida and in the Great Lakes region as well, whereas the drought in the states of Oregon and Arizona resulted in the development of fires. In Mexico, showers ended up with floods.

In Moscow, 196 mm of precipitation fell in June, exceeding 250% of the normal amount and making June 2024 the wettest in the meteorological chronicle of the capital since 1891 – moreover, not only the wettest June, but also the wettest month among all other months of the year.