The key weather and climate features in the northern hemisphere in May 2016

Air temperature

In the Russian North during the whole month prevailed abnormally warm weather. The thermometers rose to 27-29°C. New record maximum temperatures have been established. As a result, the average monthly temperature anomalies were above 4°C here, and last May was the warmest in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Only in the distant 1897, May was also a little warmer - by 0.1°C.

To the south of the European part of Russia, the mean temperature for the month were close to normal, or even colder then it. In the Pskov and Leningrad regions, Republic of Karelia, the Upper Volga was observed freezing. The same happened in the southern Urals, but there, as well as in the Volga and Western Siberia, in the third decade came hot weather with temperatures up to 30 °C and above.

In eastern Siberia, though on some days it was not hot at the time (for example, a new daily maximum temperature was set in Irkutsk), but overall for the month the weather there was cold, and the average temperature was below normal.

Another heat center was located in the northeast of Russia in the Magadan region and Chukotka Region. Here, as in the Russian North, in each of the three decades the air temperature exceeded the norm by 2-4°C. It is natural that the anomalies were the same in the monthly plan. The average air temperature in May in the north of the Far Eastern Federal District was the largest in the history of meteorological observations, ie, - since 1891. It is in the top five highest values, including the south of the county.

Such an alternation of heat and cold across the country led to the fact that May 2016 in Russia turned out to be warmer than normal, but it only closed the top ten warmest Mays.

Temperature conditions in China were mostly close to norm. Which is not applicable to its neighbors. For example, in North Korea and northern Japan was abnormally hot weather. The air temperature was above 30°C, high temperatures steadily held the entire second half of the month. The same heat wave was on the southern border of China. In Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the average monthly temperature anomalies were above 2°C. About the same situation was in the Philippines. In the north of Mongolia on the contrary, it was cooler than usual, by 1.0-1.5°C for the month.

Very hot in May experienced India and Pakistan. The air often glowed above 45-50°C. In India, a new absolute maximum temperature for the country was set at the level of + 51.0°C. In some areas, was declared a state of emergency. The level of electricity consumption due to the mass inclusion of cooling devices has risen to a record. Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from a lack of clean drinking water, hundreds - died because of the heat and associated conditions for it.

In countries in the south of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan), as well as in the Middle East, the average temperature of the month was higher than the norm by 2°C or more. The same situation was in North Africa, as well as in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Abnormally warm weather in May has captured most of Europe. In the south, Scandinavia, the Baltic States and Germany weather turned out to be warmer than the norm for the month by 2°C or more. In the countries of the Iberian Peninsula and in parts of Central Europe, the heat rose past 30°C. However, there have been some breakthroughs and cold, which in the foothills of the Alps and the Balkans lowered the temperature below 0°C, which made whole month there colder than norm.

In Canada last May was the third warmest in history. In most of the country, the temperature exceeded the norms by 2°C or more, and in the north - by 4-6°C. About the same anomalies were in the neighboring US state of Alaska, where the mean monthly air temperature has repeated a record value set in May 1998. At the same time, in most of the United States, the temperature was close to normal. Only in Oregon and California in the west and Wisconsin and Minnesota in the north, sometimes conditions considerably exceeded it, while in the Rocky Mountains the score was lower than normal.

In the Arctic last May was the second warmest since May 2010. The record temperature highs were recorded in Svalbard, the Arctic coast of Russia and Canada.

As in previous months, last May in the hemisphere was the warmest in the history of meteorological observations. With the exception of ocean waters in the central Pacific Ocean, the northern and central parts of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as some areas in Siberia, Mongolia, northern Kazakhstan, the central US states and southeastern Europe, the average temperature was above the norm.

In Moscow, the average air temperature in May 2016 was 15.0°C, which was 1.9°C more than the norm.

The average temperature in the spring of 2016 (March-April-May) in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth has reached the absolute maximum for the entire 126-year history of regular meteorological observations on the planet, surpassing the previous achievement established in the spring of the last year. With the exception of certain areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the northeastern territories of Canada, the spring was warmer than normal.

Northern and temperate latitudes of Eurasia and North America remained the record holders in the warming. In the Russian North, in the north of the Urals, Western Siberia and Kazakhstan, the New Earth and polar islands in the Kara and Barents Seas, northern Canada, Greenland and Alaska seasonal air temperatures were exceeded by 4-8ºC. In the rest of the continents, average air temperature anomalies during the spring made 1-3ºC. Markedly above normal was the temperature in areas of warm ocean currents: the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio Current in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, respectively.

The warmest in the history last spring was in the Arctic and in Alaska and the second warmest in China and India.

In Russia, everywhere (perhaps with the exception of the islands of South Kuril Ridge), the average temperature was higher than the norm for spring. Overall territory of the Russian Federation was the third warmest spring in meteorological annals of the country since 1891, and in the Russian North and the Urals - the second. In Russia, it was even warmer than the springs of 2014 and 2011.


The temperature of the ocean surface

In the Pacific, concluded El Niño. Along the equator, were forming negative anomalies of sea surface temperature (SST). The neutral phase of the Southern Oscillation had began, the existence of which was predicted for the summer and, possibly, fall. In the future, the formation of La Nina is possible.

In the middle waters of the ocean continues the formation of the large negative SST anomalies in the same region with the negative air temperature anomalies exist. Along the Pacific coast of North America, there were large positive SST anomalies, in some places they have reached + 2°C or more. In addition, positive SST anomalies occur in the area of the warm Kuroshio Current.

The Atlantic Ocean still had abnormally high temperature in the Gulf area, and the surrounding areas. In the same way as in previous months, the entire northern part of the ocean from Greenland to Europe was captured by negative SST anomalies. Markedly above normal (by 1-2°C) was temperature of the surface of the Barents Sea, the Greenland Sea and Baltic Sea. In the west, the Mediterranean seasonal temperature rise was slower than usual, and now here it is below normal.


Precipitation

Southern regions of European Russia in May got a huge amount of rainfall. Moreover, most of them came in the last days of the month. During the day, there sometimes fell out up to 80mm of rain or more. For example, in the Crimea were marked showers with the intensity up to 50mm in 12 hours, in Maikop - up to 70mm in the same time. From the Ukrainian border to the border with Kazakhstan precipitation exceeded the norm by 2-5 times (Saratov - 2 times, Tambov, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don - 3, Astrakhan - 5 times). The share of the central and northern regions of European Russia had significantly less precipitation. It was often less than half of the norm, only in the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk region precipitation was about the norm and a little more.

In the Trans-Volga and Southern Urals precipitation was not enough, in the north of the Urals Federal District, they have made the norm and more. Sometimes it was still snowing, which significantly increased the height of snow accumulated during the winter.

Most of Siberia and the Far East has received normal rainfall and more. For example, in some regions of Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk and Primorye territories, the Republic of Yakutia total precipitation for the month exceeded the norm by 2-3 times. Perhaps only in the northeast (Chukotka, Kamchatka) precipitation in May was not enough. In Krasnoyarsk on Victory Day fell to 30mm of snow. It was the strongest May snowfall in the city in the history of meteorological observations.

In Asia, it was time to summer monsoon. In China, the entire month was rain. Especially in central, eastern and southeastern areas of the country (Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi). The intensity of the rainfall reached 100 mm / day. Chinese meteorologists said that in Guangdong province was very heavy rain over the past 200 years. Numerous destructions were registered, as victims were considered more than half a million people. Almost across the whole country in May were exceeded the norms of precipitation.

In Southeast Asia and Indonesia were torrential rains. In the north of Vietnam and on the island of Sumatra rainfall norm was exceeded two times or more.

In mid-May, the monsoon began in the Republic of Sri Lanka. During the day, it received more than a quarter of annual precipitation. Downpours caused numerous landslides. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes. At the end of the month monsoon arrived at the southeast India with the heavy rains that shortly exceeded the norm of precipitation for this area by 3-5 times. In India, in May, the rains were associated not only with the monsoon. In the center and north of the country and in neighboring Pakistan, where monsoon has not arrived, but showers have been intense. There the norm of precipitation for the month was exceeded by 2-3 times.

Rainfall in May did not spare Central Asia. In Kazakhstan and the Central Asian republics precipitation exceeded the norm by 2-5 times. Almaty and Samarkand past month got 2 norms of precipitation, Dushanbe - 2.5, Uralsk and Fergana - 3.5, Andijan - 4, Sasha - 6 norms.

In the Caucasus, precipitation was normal. In eastern Georgia was heavy hail that destroyed or damaged a significant portion of the vineyards. In Iran and the Middle East, rainfall was scarce, with the exception of Turkey, where, especially in the north, precipitation have exceeded the norm.

In North Africa it rained mainly in the Mediterranean coast (Algeria, Tunisia) and the Atlantic Ocean (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire), it was dry on the rest of the territory.

Europe, with the exception of the Baltic States, Poland and Scotland, thoroughly drenched rain. In southern Ukraine, the Balkans the amount of precipitation for the month amounted 2-3 norms. In Chisinau, showers for 2.5 hours brought the monthly norm of precipitation. At the end of the month, torrential rains flooded Germany, causing floods in the south of the country. In most parts of the continent precipitation was 1.5-2.0 times more than the norm, in the south-west of Spain and Portugal - in 2-4 times.

In the Western Hemisphere has also been a lot of rain. In the United States, they mostly made up the norm and more. Especially much rain was in Texas, where it caused catastrophic flooding, which led to numerous deaths and destruction. There norms of rainfall were exceeded 2 times or more. The situation was similar on the Atlantic Coast in South Carolina, while on the Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico there was not much of rain. The same was on the Pacific coast of Canada. In the rest of the country, rainfall made the norm and more. In some provinces in the south and the north, it made 1.5-2.0 norms.

Heavy rains hit the eastern coast of Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. They have led to loss of life and livestock, washed away farmland.

In Moscow in the past month fell to 63 mm of rainfall. This is a quarter more than the norm, but almost 2 times less than in May of the last year, which entered in the meteorological annals of the capital as the second wettest in history