According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), January 2023 was the seventh-warmest January in 174 years. The global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.57 degrees F (0.87 of a degree C) above average, marking the 47th-consecutive January and the 527th-consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average. Sea ice at both poles ran very low in January 2023, with global sea ice coverage setting a record low and Antarctic sea ice extent hitting a record low for January. Arctic sea ice extent in January was the third-smallest in the 45-year record. Precipitation varied globally, with above-average rainfall across parts of northeastern and inland eastern Northern America, the central and southern coast of the western US, central Europe, central Asia, and eastern Oceania. In the US, California was hit by nine back-to-back atmospheric rivers, bringing a total of 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow to the state. Global tropical cyclones were below average, with four named storms spinning across the globe in January 2023, and only one of them, Cyclone Cheneso, reached tropical cyclone strength.

Visit NOAA to read some highlights from NOAA's January global climate report.