El Nino Sends Global Temperatures to Highs Above Seasonal Norms

Global temperatures in April reached record highs, for the second time in three months, as the effects of the most powerful El Nino warming event of this century continued to be felt, according to researchers from the University of Alabama at Huntsville. April temperatures were 1.28 degrees Fahrenheit above seasonal norms, about 0.32 degrees warmer than the record set in February. The next warmest month in the almost 20-year satellite record was December 1987, with a global temperature average that was less than 0.9 degrees above the seasonal norm.

Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II