The RSS MSU satellite data for February 2010 are out.







The global anomaly is +0.588 °C which is 0.052 °C lower than the January 2010 anomaly. The newest February 2010 reading is also a whopping 0.148 °C cooler than the warmest February reading on their record, namely +0.736 °C in February 1998.



While January 2010 was 0.09 °C warmer than January 1998, the average of January 2010 and February 2010 is already cooler than the corresponding two months of 1998 so it seems more likely than not that 2010 will be cooler than 1998. The ongoing El Nino is still somewhat strong but already measurably weaker than the 1997-1998 El Nino, so that's what you would expect.



The anomaly in February 2010 was also cooler than January 2007 and four warmer months in 1998.









February 2010 was somewhat unusually warm in the tropics between -20°S and +20°N where the anomaly was +1.015 °C and extremely cool in the Continental U.S. where the anomaly was -1.771 °C.