More evidence of global warming

NYT points to recently released reports by the NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which indicate that 2010 was the wettest year in the historical record. Further, the global average surface temperature for 2010 had tied the record set in 2005 (record-keeping began in 1880).



The 2010 temperature was 1.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the average for the 20th century, which is 57 degrees. It was the 34th year running that global temperatures have been above the 20th-century average; the last below-average year was 1976. The new figures also show that 9 of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since the beginning of 2001.

In India too, as the Indian Meteorological Department announced recently, 2010 was the warmest year ever in India since weather records began in 1901. The mean annual temperature in the country during 2010 (at 24.64 degrees C) was as much as 0.93 degrees Celsius higher than the long term (1961-1990) average.