The Pause Update: December 2016

The complete UAH v6.0 data for December have been released. I present all the graphs for various regions, and as well summaries for easier comparison. The Pause has ended globally and for the Northern Hemisphere, and the Tropics, and may soon disappear from the USA, and the Southern Hemisphere.  The 12 month mean to December 2016 for the Globe is +0.50 C.

These graphs show the furthest back one can go to show a zero or negative trend (less than 0.1 +/-0.1C per 100 years) in lower tropospheric temperatures. I calculate 12 month running means to remove the small possibility of seasonal autocorrelation in the monthly anomalies. Note: The satellite record commences in December 1978- now 38 years and one month long- 457 months. 12 month running means commence in November 1979. The y-axes in the graphs below are at December 1978, so the vertical gridlines denote Decembers. The final plotted points are December 2016.

[CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

Globe:

The Pause has ended. A trend of +0.32 C/100 years (+/- 0.1C) since March 1998 is creeping up, but the 12 month means have peaked and are heading down.

And, for the special benefit of those who think that I am deliberately fudging data by using 12 month running means, here is the plot of monthly anomalies:

That’s since December 1997.

Northern Hemisphere:

The Northern Hemisphere Pause has well and truly ended.

Southern Hemisphere:

For well over half the record, the Southern Hemisphere still has zero trend.  The Pause is about to end.

Tropics:

The Pause in the Tropics (20N to 20S) has ended and the minimal trend is now +.32C/ 100 years.  12 month means peaked mid-year.

As Tropical Oceans closely mimic the Tropics overall, I won’t show their plot.

Northern Extra Tropics:

The minimal trend is up to +0.6C/ 100 years.

Southern Extra Tropics:

The Pause persists strongly, however 12 month means are still rising.

Northern Polar:

The trend has increased a lot to +2.35C and since February 2003 +0.88C/100 years.

Southern Polar:

The South Polar region has been cooling for the entire record.

USA 49 States:

The Pause has shortened again and is about to disappear altogether.

Australia:

The Pause is still 21 years 5 months, and means have peaked.  Will the Australian Pause survive where others have failed?

The next graphs summarise the above plots. First, a graph of the relative length of The Pause in the various regions:

Note that the Pause has ended by my criteria in all regions of Northern Hemisphere, and consequently the Globe, and the Tropics, but all southern regions have a Pause for over half the record, including the South Polar region which has been cooling for the whole record.

The variation in the linear trend for the whole record, 1978 to the present:

Note the decrease in trends from North Polar to South Polar.

And the variation in the linear trend since June 1998, which is about halfway between the global low point of December 1997 and the peak in December 1998:

The imbalance between the two hemispheres is obvious. The lower troposphere over Australia has been strongly cooling for more than 18 years- just shy of half the record.

Global TLT anomalies are now dropping rapidly.  The next few months will be interesting. The Pause will disappear from the USA and Southern Hemisphere soon, but not the Southern Extra-Tropics or Australia. El Nino tropical heat is strongly affecting the North Polar region now, and will affect the Southern Hemisphere early this year.

Tags: climate, global warming, Pause