2010 Tied for Hottest Year Ever

Last year was a hot and wet affair, tying 2005 for the warmest year on record and standing alone as the year with the most precipitation, according to the National Climatic Data Center, which has records dating back to 1880. The earth’s average temperature rose to 58.12 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.12 degrees above the 20th-century average. It was the 34th straight year that temperatures have been above average.

“This warmth reinforces the notion that we’re seeing climate change,” one scientist tells USA Today. The year saw a number of brutal heat waves—most notably Russia’s—and he notes that “the probability of these events does increase as the climate warms.” But another climatologist notes that the temperature trend is “pretty flat from the 1990s. We don’t see much of a warming trend over the past 12 years.” (More climate change stories.)