Global Heat Goes On: April Was World's Second Hottest On Record

Canada, the ocean off the west coast of Australia and parts of the
Mideast were a bit cool in April, but most of the rest
of the world was warm. Again. It was globally
the second warmest April on record 

Once again in April, parts of the United States and Canada didn't get the memo:

While a few sections of North America were a little on the cool side, the world as a whole had its second hottest April on record, says NOAA's Centers for Environmental Information.

Only April 2016 had a toastier global temperature in records that date back to 1880.

The warm April follows March, which was also the second warmest on record for Earth.

For those of you keeping track, this was the 43rd warmer than average April in a row. It was also the 412th consecutive month with above normal global temperatures. If you're younger than 34 years old, you've never seen a cooler-than-average global month.

In April, the hottest spots, relative to average, were Greenland, Scandinavia and northern and central Asia. Relative cool spots were mostly limited to Canada, areas near the Great Lakes, and the southern Ocean near Australia.

(Here in Vermont, April's temperatures were pretty close to normal.)

Arctic sea ice extent was also the lowest on record in April, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

That doesn't necessarily mean this summer will be the most ice-free on record way up at the top of the Earth. It all depends on weather and ocean currents. There have been some springs in recent years with very low Arctic ice extent, followed by summers in which the ice was puny, but not at record lows.

These monthly updates on global climate come out about two weeks or so after the month closes. We'll see how May went when the next report appears in mid-June.