GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Climate takes center stage globally for the month of September.
According to scientists at the National Centers for Environmental Information, September 2020 was the warmest globally since 1880. This sets 2020 up to rank amongst the top three warmest years on record globally.
Climate Breakdown
September's average global temperatures calculated out to 60.75° F. The average 20th-century temperature for September is 59.0° F. That puts September 2020 1.75° above-average.
The past record years for September temperatures were in 2015 and 2016, at 60.71° F. Making September 2020 0.04° F above the previous record holder.
The top 10 warmest Septembers have all taken place since 2005. Seven of the top ten years have occurred in the last seven years.
Global Impacts
As of October 7th, the United States has tied the record for billion-dollar natural disaster events. Including one wildfire event, one drought event, three hurricane events, and 11 severe storm events.
According to NOAA, Hurricane Laura is ranked at the top for costly damage with just over 14.1 billion dollars of damage. The derecho that moved through the midwest created eight billion dollars of damage. Ranking third is Hurricane Sally at five billion dollars.
- Hurricane Laura, Aug. 27-29: $14 billion
- Severe weather (derecho), Midwest, Aug. 8-12: $8 billion
- Hurricane Sally, Southeast, Sep. 11-18: $5 billion
- Hurricane Isaias, Eastern, Aug. 2-4: $5 billion
- Wildfire (CZU Complex Fire), California, Aug. 17-Sep. 22: $3.5 billion
- Severe weather, Midwest through Mid-Atlantic, Apr. 10-14: $3.45 billion
- Severe weather, Midwest through Mid-Atlantic, Apr. 6-9: $3.0 billion
- Severe weather, Central and Eastern U.S., Mar. 27-30: $2.9 billion
- Severe weather/Nashville tornado, Mar. 2-5: $2.4 billion
- Severe weather, Rockies, Plains, and Midwest U.S., May 20-24: $1.65 billion
- Severe weather, Texas, May 27-28: $1.55 billion
- Severe weather, Central and Eastern U.S., Feb. 3-8: $1.5 billion
- Severe weather, Plains through the Midwest U.S., May 4-5: $1.5 billion
- Severe weather, Plains and the mid-Atlantic U.S., Apr. 21-24: $1.45 billion
- Severe weather, Central and Eastern U.S., Jan. 10-12: $1.28 billion
- Drought, U.S., Jan.-Sep: $1.0 billion
A 2020 article complied with over 300 peer-reviewed studies looking at the connection between human-influenced climate change and extreme weather events. Results show overwhelming evidence that links human activity to increased extreme weather. With warming temperatures leading in the link between humans and extreme weather events.
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