This movie shows maps of monthly temperature anomalies (differences from normal) from January through December 2010. Places where temperatures were up to 7 degrees Celsius warmer than average (1971-2000) are red, while places where temperatures were up to 7 degrees cooler than average are blue. Locations where temperatures were near the long-term average are white.
Between January and April 2010, sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean were under the warming influence of a fading El Niño episode. Meanwhile, temperature patterns across the Northern Hemisphere were largely dominated by a strong negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation. The dramatic differences from average temperatures on either side of the North Atlantic—unusually warm in Greenland and eastern Canada and unusually cool in Europe—weakened during the summer, and the early-year El Niño switched to La Niña in July and strengthened through the fall.
Based on Global Historical Climatology Network datafrom NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.