NASA Research Finds 2010 Tied for Warmest Year on Record

/PRNewswire/ -- Global surface temperatures in 2010 tied 2005 as the warmest on record, according to an analysis released Wednesday by researchers at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.

The two years differed by less than 0.018 degrees Fahrenheit. The difference is smaller than the uncertainty in comparing the temperatures of recent years, putting them into a statistical tie. In the new analysis, the next warmest years are 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007, which are statistically tied for third warmest year. The GISS records begin in 1880.

The analysis found 2010 approximately 1.34 F warmer than the average global surface temperature from 1951 to 1980. To measure climate change, scientists look at long-term trends. The temperature trend, including data from 2010, shows the climate has warmed by approximately 0.36 F per decade since the late 1970s.

"If the warming trend continues, as is expected, if greenhouse gases continue to increase, the 2010 record will not stand for long," said James Hansen, the director of GISS.

The analysis produced at GISS is compiled from weather data from more than 1000 meteorological stations around the world, satellite observations of sea surface temperature and Antarctic research station measurements. A computer program uses the data to calculate temperature anomalies -- the difference between surface temperature in a given month and the average temperature for the same period during 1951 to 1980. This three-decade period acts as a baseline for the analysis.

The resulting temperature record closely matches others independently produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center.

The record temperature in 2010 is particularly noteworthy, because the last half of the year was marked by a transition to strong La Nina conditions, which bring cool sea surface temperatures to the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

"Global temperature is rising as fast in the past decade as in the prior two decades, despite year-to-year fluctuations associated with the El Nino-La Nina cycle of tropical ocean temperature," Hansen and colleagues reported in the Dec. 14, 2010, issue of Reviews of Geophysics.

A chilly spell also struck this winter across northern Europe. The event may have been influenced by the decline of Arctic sea ice and could be linked to warming temperatures at more northern latitudes.

Arctic sea ice acts like a blanket, insulating the atmosphere from the ocean's heat. Take away that blanket, and the heat can escape into the atmosphere, increasing local surface temperatures. Regions in northeast Canada were more than 18 degrees warmer than normal in December.

The loss of sea ice may also be driving Arctic air into the middle latitudes. Winter weather patterns are notoriously chaotic, and the GISS analysis finds seven of the last 10 European winters warmer than the average from 1951 to 1980. The unusual cold in the past two winters has caused scientists to begin to speculate about a potential connection to sea ice changes.

"One possibility is that the heat source due to open water in Hudson Bay affected Arctic wind patterns, with a seesaw pattern that has Arctic air downstream pouring into Europe," Hansen said.

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Georgia summer sets record

Georgia summers are notoriously hot. But this one has been a record-setter, with August capping a string of months with temperatures significantly above average.

For June, July and August, several airport locations recorded their warmest summer in history, including Savannah, Athens, Columbus and Alma. Other locations, like Atlanta, Macon, Augusta and Brunswick, recorded their second or third hottest summer ever. Nighttime minimum temperatures were especially high, contributing to the warm and muggy feel.

Temperatures were warmer than normal everywhere in Georgia in August. In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 82.8 degrees F (3.9 degrees above normal), in Athens 82.2 degrees (3.8 degrees above normal), Columbus 85.4 degrees (4.1 degrees above normal), Macon 83.8 degrees (3.8 degrees above normal), Savannah 84.2 degrees (3.4 degrees above normal), Brunswick 84.1 degrees (2.8 degrees above normal), Alma 83.8 degrees (2.7 degrees above normal), Valdosta 84.1 degrees (4.3 degrees above normal), and Augusta 82.3 degrees (3 degrees above normal).

Despite the unrelenting heat, there were no daily temperature records broken in August, although several record high temperatures and high minimum temperatures were tied. Rainfall across the state was highly variable. Some areas received more than 200 percent of normal and other areas received less than 50 percent of normal rain.

The highest monthly total from National Weather Service reporting stations was 7.62 inches in Athens (3.84 inches above normal). The lowest was Columbus at 2.45 inches (1.33 inches below normal). Valdosta received 3.48 inches (1.95 inches below normal), Alma 2.72 inches (2.78 inches below normal), Brunswick 4.94 inches (1.22 inches below normal), Atlanta 3.32 inches (.35 inch below normal), Macon 3.57 inches (.22 inch below normal), Savannah 5.30 inches (1.90 inches below normal), and Augusta 2.04 inches (2.44 inches below normal).

Record daily rainfall was set Aug. 21 in Brunswick, where 1.15 inches fell, breaking the old record of 1.04 inches set in 2009. Savannah also set a daily rainfall record of 3.21 inches Aug. 22, breaking the old record of 2.78 inches set in 1929.

The highest single-day rainfall from Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network stations was 4.69 inches at Tybee Island Aug. 17. An observer in White County received 4.22 inches Aug. 22. The highest monthly rainfall total in August was 16.82 inches near Midway in Liberty County, followed by 14.55 inches from an observer near Sylvania in Screven County.

Scattered wind damage hit somewhere in Georgia on nine days during the month. Small hail was reported near Atlanta Aug. 28. No tornadoes were reported in August.

Weather conditions fueled the development of armyworms, which some agricultural agents listed as the worst they had seen in 25 years. They devastated pastures and hayfields in locations across the state.



By Pam Knox
University of Georgia




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