--- ---  # This Was the Warmest Winter on Record ## Video: Watch: A Timelapse of Climate Change [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: A Timelapse of Climate Change](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ywHiuC83.m3u8) (0:48)  _Published 2013-05-09. Climate Change_  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Mar 19, 2015 1:08 PM UTC  A pedestrian walks through the exhaust of a steam vent during a frigid morning commute, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, in New York. A pedestrian walks through the exhaust of a steam vent during a frigid morning commute, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, in New York.John Minchillo—AP  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Mar 19, 2015 1:08 PM UTC Global temperatures from December to February were the highest on record, U.S. climate officials said Wednesday. If that comes as a surprise to many Americans after an agonizingly cold winter, it’s because the region encompassing the eastern United States and Canada was one of the only places on earth with lower-than-average temperatures.  NOAA Globally, the average temperature from December to February was 1.42 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 20th-century average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The average temperature was the highest since tracking began in 1880, surpassing the previous high in 2007 by .05 degrees. Last month marked the second coldest February on record, behind February 1998. _Read next:_ [_It’s Official: Boston Had Snowiest Winter Ever_](http://time.com/3745398/boston-winter-weather-snowfall/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) Winter Was Warmest on Record, NOAA Says ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3750660/winter-warm-climate-change-noaa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3750660/winter-warm-climate-change-noaa/"},"headline":"This Was the Warmest Winter on Record","datePublished":"2015-03-19T13:08:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:59.499Z","description":"But you wouldn't have guessed it if you lived on the East Coast","url":"https://time.com/3750660/winter-warm-climate-change-noaa/","keywords":["Environment","weather"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f3d88ee244d7d1/69878450e20a876fc7a85a62/winter-weather.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f3d88ee244d7d1/69878450e20a876fc7a85a62/winter-weather.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A pedestrian walks through the exhaust of a steam vent during a frigid morning commute, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, in New York.","caption":"A pedestrian walks through the exhaust of a steam vent during a frigid morning commute, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, in New York.","creditText":"John Minchillo—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3750660/winter-warm-climate-change-noaa/","name":"This Was the Warmest Winter on Record"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: A Timelapse of Climate Change","description":"Climate Change","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ywHiuC83/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-05-09T17:46:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ywHiuC83.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3750660/winter-warm-climate-change-noaa/","duration":"PT48S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3750660/winter-warm-climate-change-noaa/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```