Cool animated data visualization here of August 2009 being one of the warmest on record, from the NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory.
The world’s ocean surface temperature was the warmest for any August on record, and the warmest on record averaged for any June-August summer season, according to NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. World-wide records began in 1880. Shown here is a visualization of the August global temperature anomalies–or in other words, how the average temperature in August differs from the average climate of 1961-1990. Notice that in some areas, such as the central United States, temperatures were much cooler than average. But overall, land and ocean temperatures were several degrees above normal.
Referral: NOAA News story about the August 2009 climate analysis by NCDC
Via SimpleComplexity.net.