Heat Wave: 2010 to Be One of Hottest Years on Record
After a sweltering spring, 2010 "will almost certainly" be one of the warmest years recorded since 1880, a new report says.
Land and ocean temperatures for the period of January to June were the hottest seen since record-keeping began in 1880, according to an analysis released July 15 by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The average temperature for the first half of 2010 was 57.5 degrees Fahrenheit (14.2 degrees Celsius)—about 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit (0.7 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average.
Nine countries shattered heat records, including Pakistan, which on May 26 logged a mercury reading of 128.3 degrees Fahrenheit (53.5 degrees Celsius)—the highest ever seen in Asia, according to Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for the Weather Underground website.
(Related: "Global Warming
