Friday, 14 January 2011 16:01
2010 Tied for Warmest Year on RecordWritten by Jordana Fyne
Last year tied with 2005 as the warmest year since records began in 1880, with global combined land and water surface temperatures 1.12°F above the 20th century average. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released their data this week, which was corroborated soon after by NASA's Goddard Institute report that came to the same conclusion. The northern hemisphere broke records as the warmest year on record above the 20th century average, while the southern hemisphere experienced less extreme warming with 2010 ranking as the sixth warmest year. Furthermore, 2010 saw a dramatic shift in the El Niï¿½oï¿½Southern Oscillation, which influences temperature and precipitation patterns around the world. Click here or the map below to see the interesting graphic NOAA put together on significant climate anomalies in 2010, including the worst heat wave to hit Russia in 130 years and the most devastating monsoon floods to hit Pakistan since 1929. most recent UN climate summit in Cancun where bold plans where outlined and then left to flounder. UN climate representatives walked away from Cancun without creating a system to enforce the plan, track the dollars or measure the progress. Thus it will continue to fall primarily on non-governmental actors, including individuals and businesses, to fight climate change.
Published in carbonfree blog