March 2013 was unusually cool across most of the eastern United States, including here in New York City.  For much of the rest of the world, however, it was warmer than average.

According to NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, March 2013 tied March 2006 as the tenth warmest March on record for the entire globe.  The planet’s combined average temperature for the month – over both land and ocean surfaces – was 55.14°F, which is 1.04°F above the 20th century average.

March 2013 also marked the 337th consecutive month that our global temperature was above its long-term norm. That means the last below-average global temperature for any month was February 1985.

Image Credit: NOAA