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

Air Temperature

Coolness that came to the ETR at the end of July remained there for the entire first half of August, and even led to new record-breaking colds and to the first frosts in the north. In the first decade, the average temperature anomalies in the Volga region were -2° or below. Everything changed with the advent of heat in the third decade, when such anomalies reached +3…5 or more degrees in Central Russia, and new temperature maxima were recorded in the Black Earth region, Krasnodar Territory and Crimea and, in the last days of the month, in north-west as well, namely, in the Leningrad and Pskov Regions and in the Republic of Karelia.

In the Urals, the air temperature in the first half of August was close to normal, with the exception of Yamal where the weather in the second decade was slightly warmer than usual. And, just like in the ETR, the heat came to the Urals in the third decade, and the monthly-averaged temperatures in some places exceeded their normal values by two or more degrees.

A similar picture was observed in Siberia where the temperatures were close to normal in the first half of August, and increased to 2-3° above normal thereafter.

In the Far East, abnormally cold weather prevailed for most of the month, with the temperature averages remaining 1-3 or more degrees below normal in the first and second decades, and roughly returning to normal in the third decade only.

However, this did not prevent from temperature surges on occasional days in the Asian Territory of Russia: thus, the thermometer readings at the beginning of the month would rise to 30° to set new records of warmth in the south of Western Siberia (in the Kemerovo and Tomsk Regions or in the Republic of Tyva). In the middle of the month, the unprecedented heat persisted for several days in a row in Trans-Baikal and Tyva as well as in the central areas of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, while in the third decade, the same occurred in Eastern Siberia.

As a monthly-averaged result, two foci of cold were formed in Russia: the first with weakly-negative anomalies in the Volga region and the south-west of the Urals, and the second in the north of the Far East where the anomalies in Chukotka and, partially, in Kolyma, reached -2°. Also, there were two foci of warmth: one observed in the far north of the ETR, and the other stretched across the Northern Urals and Siberia from the northern seas to the southern border of the country.

The monthly-averaged temperature in Russia was just below the top five highest recorded since 1891. In Siberia, it was close to the record-breaking value and ranked the second to third high for the same period (alongside August 2020), August 2023 still preserving its leading position.

To an accuracy of 0.1°C, the average temperature of summer in Russia reproduced the highest value first set in 2016 and then regained in 2021. This summer was unprecedented warm in Siberia, in the North-Western, Central and Southern Federal Districts, and was among the top five warmest in the history of meteorological observations in the ETR and the ATR separately.

In Central China, in Mongolia, in the Korean Peninsula and in Japan, the weather was very warm, with the normal monthly-averaged air temperatures exceeded by 2° or more. In China, this August was the hottest in the history of regular meteorological observations in the country, surpassing the previous record by as much as half a degree, and in Japan, it was the second warmest in history.

The monthly-averaged temperatures in South-East and South Asia were close to normal.

With the exception of the north-western Kazakhstan were new air temperature minima were even recorded, this month in Central Asia was warmer than usual almost everywhere, especially in the east and south-east of Kazakhstan and in Uzbekistan where the normal monthly temperature averages were exceeded by 2-3° or more, and new daily temperature maxima were set in some places.

The monthly-averaged air temperatures in the Near and Middle East were also approximately normal. The thermometer readings in certain areas of Iran could rise to 46-49°, and the normal August values were exceeded by two or more degrees in the west of the country. The same anomalies were measured in the Transcaucasian countries.

In North Africa, this August (along with August 2015) was the second warmest in the history of meteorological observations. High anomalies above 2° were observed in the north of the continent.

In most of Europe, August was excessively hot: in the west of the continent (in Portugal and Spain), in the central and eastern parts (from Germany to Ukraine and Belarus), as well as in the north of Scandinavia, the normal temperatures were exceeded by two or more degrees, the thermometers repeatedly indicated 35-40°, and new temperature maxima were set in Ukraine and Belarus. This was the hottest August in the history of Europe, the hottest one as reported by the weather services of Austria and Spain, and the second warmest in the history of Switzerland.

The North American continent followed the general trend of climate warming, rendering this August the hottest in the history of Canada, and promoting it among the warmest ones in the United States except for Alaska where it was noticeably colder than usual. The normal values in the north of Canada, the south-west of the US and the north of Mexico were exceeded by two or more degrees. In the Caribbean, it was the warmest August in history.

The weather in the Arctic was abnormally warm: its monthly-averaged temperature entered the top three highest in the history of meteorological observations. The temperatures in the Norwegian, Barents and Kara seas were 2-4° above normal. The Norwegian Meteorology Service reported new maxima of monthly-averaged air temperature at all its Arctic weather stations.

As to the entire Northern Hemisphere, August 2024 became the second warmest in the meteorological chronicle since 1891, yielding to August 2023 only.

This summer in the Northern Hemisphere turned out to be the hottest in the history of observations; the same applies to the winter and spring 2024. Based on this fact, it may be reliably presumed that the entire year will be the ever-warmest. This year, abnormally hot summer was recorded in all continents of the Hemisphere, with the normal values exceeded by 1-3° or more in Eurasia and North Africa, and by 1-2° or more in North America. The weather was cooler than usual solely in the north-east of Russia, in Alaska, Great Britain, Greenland, Iceland and certain water areas of the World Ocean. It was all-time hot in Russia, in the USA, in China and Japan, in Europe and North Africa, and in the Caribbean.

In Moscow, the average August temperature was 18.8° with an anomaly of +1.2°, and the average summer temperature was 20.3° with an anomaly of +2.1°. This summer in the capital was among the top ten warmest in the meteorological annals since 1891, the summer 2010 remaining the leader.

Sea Surface Temperature

The neutral phase of the Southern Oscillation was still active in the equatorial Pacific, with SST anomalies from -0.5° to +0.5°. The rest of the Pacific Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, with the exception of the Bering Sea, was occupied by positive SST anomalies; the highest of them were located at temperate latitudes, and reached +4…+5° or more. The monthly-averaged SST of the Pacific Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere exhibited an absolute maximum, and not only in August 2024, but in all preceding eleven months in a row as well.

In the Atlantic Ocean, the absolute maximum of SST set in 2004 was reproduced, and the record-breaking value itself persevered for the twentieth month already (for all months of 2023 and for eight months of 2024). Abnormally cold water was observed in the north of the Ocean between Greenland and the UK, whereas the water in the rest of the Ocean was abnormally warm, and the monthly-averaged SST at temperate latitudes was 2-3 or more degrees higher than normal. In the seas washing Europe, including the Barents and Kara Seas in the north, the temperatures were very high. 

Precipitation

This August, precipitation in most of the ETR was markedly subnormal; the normal value was only reached in the Volga region and in a small number of Regions in the North-Western and Central Federal Districts. Yet, heavy showers did occur: for example, in the middle of the first decade, they hit Central Russia (the Tula, Smolensk, Kaluga, Lipetsk and Bryansk Regions), bringing up to 30 mm of daily rainwater to some places. At the end of the same decade, rains of intensity 20-40 mm per day came to the Volga and north-western regions. At the end of the month, record-breaking rains inundated Sochi where more than 100 mm of precipitation fell in three hours, and a new daily precipitation maximum was set.

Precipitation in the Urals was normal or slightly higher than that. Rains flooded Western Siberia, especially its southern areas: the monthly precipitation totals in the Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Regions as well as in the Altai Territory were 1.5-2.0 or more times the normal figure, and half of the normal monthly amount was measured during a single day in some locations.

Regarding the Far Eastern Federal District, precipitation was normal in Yakutia, the Trans-Baikal, individual regions of the Khabarovsk Territory, the south of Primorye, on Sakhalin and Kamchatka, yet the rainfall amounts were 1.5-2.0 times the normal one in some places, bringing up to 20-35 mm of rainwater per day, or up to 60-70 mm in Primorye. In the rest of the region, precipitation was scarce. Snow fell in Chukotka and Kolyma.

Precipitation in East Asia was significantly above normal in Mongolia and in the northern regions of China. In the latter country, the amounts were normal along the coast but subnormal elsewhere. Precipitation on Korean Peninsula was also insufficient.

The precipitation quantities in the countries of South-East Asia were normal or greater than that.

The summer monsoon brought a lot of rain to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; there, the precipitation figures were normal or above-normal almost everywhere, 1.5 to 3.0 times the normal amount in some areas. In Bangladesh, rains caused floods that killed people.

The weather in most of the Near and Middle East as well as in Central Asia was dry. Rains fell in the south of Arabian Peninsula and in a number of regions in the north of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

In North Africa, heavy rains fell in the north and west. They led to floods in Niger and raised the water level in the Niger River by more than half a metre, thereby flooding the roads and cutting communication between the capital and the rest of the country. In Sudan, flooding caused by downpours resulted in deaths.

The weather in most of Europe was dry. Heavy rains fell solely in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries where new daily precipitation totals were recorded in some places.

A similar picture was observed in North America: the weather in Canada was dry, and the rains in the US were of local character. Still, the precipitation amounts along the coasts of both oceans and in Alaska were normal or above-normal.

In Moscow, the monthly precipitation total in August was 37 mm, which is less than half the normal quantity. During the summer, 304 mm of atmospheric moisture was measured, and 64% of this figure were attributed to rainy July, but in overall, the summer precipitation total in the capital was about normal.