Coral reefs are important and productive ocean ecosystems, providing shelter and protection for diverse sea life. NOAA's latest seasonal outlook for coral bleaching shows potential for bleaching along the Pacific coast of Mexico and islands in the equatorial central Pacific Ocean.
The Sun's average brightness varies over time, and the changes can affect global surface temperature. But long-term changes over the period of human-caused global warming are minimal.
The amount of sea ice that survives the Arctic summer has declined by 13 percent per decade since the start of the 43-year satellite record.
In the past 60 years, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased 100 times faster than it did during the end of the last ice age.
Earth's surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the start of the NOAA record in 1850. It may seem like a small change, but it's a tremendous increase in stored heat.
The Oceanic Nino Index tracks the sea surface temperature in the east-central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is NOAA's primary indicator of the climate patterns known as El Niño and La Niña.
March 2025 temperatures for the contiguous U.S. were the sixth-warmest in the 131-year record. Precipitation ranked in the middle third of the historical record.
After spending much of the season with super strong wind speeds, the polar vortex bowed out two weeks ago, with the core west-to-east winds sliding off the pole. However, as it winds down for the season, the polar vortex still has a few tricks up its sleeve.
