Last month I provided a weather up-date and it was not my intention to provide updates on a regular basis. But the latest NASA temperature anomaly data for January I feel are worthy of comment. Why is this relevant to The Oil Drum? Well amongst other things, mild winter weather in the northern hemisphere reduces demand for natural gas and heating oil. Furthermore, a continuation of current trends may see tracts of molten permafrost render oil exploration and production impossible throughout vast areas of Siberia, Canada and Alaska. Melting of Arctic Sea Ice, on the other hand, may open up new offshore provinces.

Figure 1. Surface temperature analysis map for January 2007 from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The datum period for comparison is 1951 to 1980.

There are 8 more maps and charts below the fold.