365 Days of Climate Awareness 137–2002 State of the World Climate

Climate science features at times endless sequences of chicken-and-egg questions.

Photo credit: iStock

By Michael Sutherland

2002 World Climate Data

• Atmospheric CO2 concentration: 372.59 ppm, +2.02 ppm from 2001
• Surface air temperature anomaly: +0.56°C/1.01°F, 16th all-time 1880–2021
• Precipitation below 1961–1990 global average
• ENSO: neutral at years’ beginning, El Niño by September

Global Conditions

• Above-average temperatures: Northern Hemisphere +0.63°C/1.13°F over 20th century average; ocean surface +0.42°C/0.76°F over 20th century average; Paraguay; Bolivia; Russia;
• Drought: Australia (esp. eastern); Indian monsoon (-19%); north coast of China; Mexico; parts of Central America; southern Brazil; eastern Africa; western Russia; northeast China; central Asia; Australia (as El Niño emerged)
• Extreme rain: southeast Asia; Japan; central and southern China; Taiwan; Philippines; eastern and northern Brazil; Argentina; Urugay; central and eastern Russia