According to NCEI’s Global Climate Report for January 2024, the global surface temperature (both land and ocean) was 2.29°F above the 20th-century average. This puts January as a record-breaking month — the previous record was set in January 2016. In addition, January 2024 is the 48th consecutive January with at least nominally higher temperatures than the 20th-century global average. Looking only at ocean surface temperatures, January 2024 was at a record-high for the 10th consecutive month.
Across much of the Northeast and western portion of the US, temperatures were above normal as well. (See Assessing the U.S. Climate in January 2024.)
While some areas of the globe experienced drier than normal conditions, January 2024 brought record-high precipitation over much of North America and was overall near global record levels. Northern Hemisphere snow cover was average.
For more information on both National or Global conditions in January 2024, please use the following resources:
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