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Land-Surface Temperatures Set Record High in 2010, NOAA Says
2011-01-12 17:33:52.69 GMT
By Tony C. Dreibus
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Land temperatures worldwide were the
highest on record last year as heat waves caused droughts, the
U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Land-surface temperatures averaged 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit
(1 degree Celsius) above the 20th-century average, the NOAA said
in a report today. The average land temperature from 1901 to
2000 was 47.3 degrees Fahrenheit, it shows. Ocean-surface
temperatures were the third-highest ever at 0.88 degree
Fahrenheit above the 1901-2000 average, according to the NOAA.
Higher temperatures resulted in a drought in Russia,
devastating crops and pushing wheat and corn prices to two-year
highs. China and South America also suffered from droughts, and
hot weather caused thousands of deaths, according to the report.
"Several exceptional heat waves occurred during 2010,
bringing record-high temperatures and affecting tens of millions
of people," the NOAA said. "The massive heat wave brought
Russia its warmest summer (June-August) on record. At least
15,000 deaths in Russia were attributed to the heat."
Combined land and ocean surface temperatures averaged 1.12
degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average last year,
tied with 2005 as the highest ever, the report shows.
The annually averaged sea-surface temperature for the 20th
century was 60.9 degrees Fahrenheit, and the combined land and
ocean temperature was 56.9 degrees Fahrenheit, the Washington-
based NOAA said.
For Related News and Information:
Top Commodity Stories: CTOP <GO>
Crop Calendars: CCAL <GO>
Stories Mentioning Food Shortages: NSE FOOD SHORTAGE <GO>
--Editors: Dan Weeks, John Deane.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Tony C. Dreibus in London at +44-20-3216-4753 or
tdreibus@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Claudia Carpenter at +44-20-7330-7304 or
ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.
