Jeff Masters surveys the global weather for 2010.
First, 2010 is tied with 2005 for the warmest year in the historical record.
Here are the departures from “normal” on a Mercator projection.
Earth’s warmest temperatures in 2010, relative to average, occurred in western Greenland and eastern Canada, where record-duration sea ice loss contributed to temperatures that were 9°F (5°C) above average for the year
2010 was also the wettest year ever recorded.
And all of the above records were broken during a solar minimum.
The 2010 record warmth was unusual in that it occurred during a period when energy from the sun was at its lowest levels since satellite measurements began in the 1970s. … It is very difficult to get a record warm year during a deep solar minimum, making the 2010 record one likely to be broken later this decade as the sun begins to exert a greater warming influence on the planet.
