Gallery: 2010 hottest year in recorded history

Summary: NASA has released data which shows that 2010 was tied 2005 for the warmest average temperature over a year - despite a cold spell in December and strong cooling La Nina conditions.

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Need some proof of climate change? Check out the graph above. NASA has released data which shows that 2010 was tied 2005 for the hottest average temperature over a year - despite a cold spell in December and strong cooling La Nina conditions in the Pacific in the second half of the year. 

NASA scientists believe the immediate cause of the temperature rise is the melting of the Arctic icecap which "acts as a blanket" covering the warmer ocean below it. The average temperature in December in regions of northeast Canada were 18 degrees higher than normal in 2010.

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Topic: Nasa / Space

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6 comments
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  • averages mean almost nothing depending on what data is excluded and

    how many samples in the data set.
    there are so many variables to averages and predictions that they are almost useless.

    who is it that compiled these graphs?
    do they have any personal bias to produce a specific result?
    were specific regions tabulated individually and the results averaged?

    as a normal person, i have not noticed any fluctuation of any significance over the decades except that it doesn't seem to get as hot as it used to.

    FYI
    :)
    .
    wessonjoe
    • To be more precise: NASA, we need all or nothing.

      I agree. Averages don't mean anything because It's a heck of a lot colder where I am this year. And if some readers disagree, they should know that anecdotes are all that really matter to humans - numbers are fundamentally meaningless.

      Even though NASA included data from every official global weather reporting station, it's all crud because I'm sure they specifically chose to put those stations (even the ones in China) at locations which make it seem like the temperature is going up. NASA and scientists at large have a vested interest in making it look like temperatures go up. They'll never get a Nobel Prize if they find something that goes against the fray, that's for sure.

      Had they included your and my back yards (which I'm convinced they excluded on purpose), I'm sure the data would look very, very different. NASA should come back and tell us something when they've sampled every square mile of earth's surface for at least 100 years, all while using the same thermometer (preferably a mercury-filled one since they're most reliable and mercury is not really bad for you - I know, I sniffed it when I was younger), so we know we're comparing apples to apples.

      Damn tree-hugging global warming lunatics.
      Mr. Copro Encephalic to You
  • RE: Gallery: 2010 hottest year in recorded history

    I know I have seen that picture before 2010. That picture was not snapped in 2010. I'm pretty sure you could find it on the interent.
    ItsTheBottomLine
    • Ouch, good memory

      @ItsTheBottomLine Looks like August or September of 2000.

      http://forestry.about.com/library/weekly/aa092400a.htm
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deerfire_high_res_edit.jpg

      Maybe you should remove that photo and comment?
      GabeFree
  • Sensible & Sensorble

    The term "Global Warming" is deliberately used to lump the effects of natural warming and cooling cycles, and the effects of human activity, together. As already noted, there are vested interest wanting us to believe that humans are the main malefactors.

    If we:

    - Include the data that has been deliberately excluded ("There is no data available from the Southern hemisphere");
    - Ignore statements from university professors and the like, that the Sun has no effect on global warming ("The Earth warms up more at night than it does during the day." - [that's why I always have to take my sweater off at night and put it on during the day, don't you?]);
    - Exclude the computer models that have been deliberately manipulated to give the results wanted;
    - realise that heaps of temperature sensors that used to be outside city limits are now within city limits;

    a very different picture arises.
    phills@...
  • RE: Gallery: 2010 hottest year in recorded history

    "2010 saw record cold and snow in January and February in the Northern Hemisphere"

    "Arctic sea ice cover was the third smallest since records began in 1979, trailing only 2007 and 2008. The ice cover is considered a marker of climate change as global warming tends to be seen first at the poles."

    At least since 1979....

    2010 was nowhere near the warmest on record in Austin.

    2007 saw the coldest July ever recorded in Austin, Texas. Coldest. July. Ever. 2007
    bb_apptix