This map displays the change in the sea surface temperature anomaly from the previous month divided by the standard deviation of the month-to-month change for the given month over the 1950-present base period.
The climatological base period used to calculate the sea surface temperature anomalies is 1991-2020, and the base period used for the standardization is 1950 to present. Red shading on the map indicates where the standardized change is large and positive, blue shading indicates where the standardized change is large and negative. Shading and contours start at +/- 1.0 s.d., and the shading and contour interval is 0.5 s.d. The time label on the plot indicates the later of the two months in the difference calculation; the difference is calculated as the anomaly of the later month minus the anomaly of the earlier month.
Contact help@iri.columbia.edu with any technical questions or problems with this Map Room.