Tennessee Environmental Law Blog

2010 Ties 2005 as Hottest Year on Record According to NOAA

As I sat here today looking out my window at the third significant snow storm in as many weeks, I ran across NOAA's Annual Climate Report.  While Globally 2010 was hot, for the continental U.S. it was only the 23d hottest.  Notably Tennessee's temperature was relative normal while Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida were colder than normal.  But remember:  It's the average of the entire U.S.  Many of the northern states, such as New York and Maine were much hotter.   By the way NOAA also ranked extreme weather events (whether related to climate change or not).  The Nashville Flood was number 2 on the list of top ten extreme weather events for 2010.  Here are the other highlights:

• For 2010, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature tied with 2005 as the warmest such period on record, at 0.62°C (1.12°F) above the 20^th century average of 13.9°C (57.0°F). 1998 is the third warmest year-to-date on record, at 0.60°C (1.08°F) above the 20^th century average.
   
• The 2010 Northern Hemisphere combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest year on record, at 0.73°C (1.31°F) above the 20^th century average. The 2010 Southern Hemisphere combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the sixth warmest year on record, at 0.51°C (0.92°F) above the 20^th century average.
   
• The global land surface temperature for 2010 tied with 2005 as the second warmest on record, at 0.96°C (1.73°F) above the 20^th century average. The warmest such period on record occurred in 2007, at 0.99°C (1.78°F) above the 20^th century average.
   
• The global ocean surface temperature for 2010 tied with 2005 as the third warmest on record, at 0.49°C (0.88°F) above the 20^th century average.
   
• In 2010 there was a dramatic shift in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, which influences temperature and precipitation patterns around the world. A moderate-to-strong El Niño at the beginning of the year transitioned to La Niña conditions by July. At the end of November, La Niña was moderate-to-strong.

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