Also, temperatures in tropics are warming fast and furious. For the Southern Hemisphere, we are all aware that weather is overheating, especially in Australia. But in the vast region going from Sahara to India, in the Northen Hemisphere, temperatures are already extraordinary warm. And fact is that this is endogenous warmth, which tends to accumulate months after months. So that a warm February is often follow by a warm March etc... And even more in the context of ongoing record warmth globally. Last year, when wolrd reached its warmest temperature ever in July - August (54°C around Kuwait), warning signs were visible with extremes heat in the Spring from Senegal to India. I am not aware of many monthly records, but we are still mid month. Usually, records occurs later in February in the Northern Hemisphere. But temperatures are already extraordinary high for this time of year, and if this is not monthly records this is often records for a first part of February. One point is that warmth is really widespread, from Atlantic to Pacific through all Africeurasia or I don't know how is called this continent, like in 2016. Records in tropics occured in other years of course, especially 2005, 2006, 2010, but here near record are showing about everywhere in the tropical band, like in 2016 and a bit like 2015 (but to a lesser degree of warmth in 2015). We will see, but this is not boding well also...
For example, Yelimane reached 42°C the 16th (presumptive record, 44.3°C 02/28/2010), Karachi 34.5°C the 15th (presumptive record 36.5°C the 02/27/2016), Bhuj-Rudramata 37.5°C the 15th (presumptive record 39.2°C the 02/29/2016), Save 40.4°C the 15th (presumptive record 41°C the 02/20/2016, national record for Benin 44.5°C the 04/28/1952 -monsoon comes early in Benin-).
The most extraordinary is Sarh, in Chad :
http://ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=64750&decoded=yes&ndays=20&ano=2017&mes=02&day=15&hora=06There is no obvious indication that reports coul be in error (the SYNOP from the 13th at 15Z is erroneous of course, but the others don't look in error to me). Max T is 44°C, 43.7°C and 41.2°C for a synoptic hour. In the same time, GFS is showing T850 above 28°C in the region, with a small thermal low. If it is valid, Sarh fall short of the hemispheric record of February, but the 11th of the month ! Hemispheric record is probably a 45°C reading in Sudan, the 25th of February in 2005.
Oceanic temperatures are lower than in 2016 apparently, so this will perhaps temper the seasonal rise of temperatures. And a stronger temperature gradient between Ocean and Land can possibly lead to a stronger monsoon, tempering even more the warmth. But it does not need a lot of imagination to construct an idea of what this mean in May or June after 4 months of seasonal rise if the start of the rise is already above 40°C....