2010 - a Year of Extreme Weather
For Planet Earth, 2010 was the equal warmest year in the modern records, tying with 2005.
There were some very unusual weather events in 2010, which may be a warning of future effects of climate change.
China and Brazil had serious droughts, and in the first part of the year the Northern Hemisphere warmed quickly, melting the winter snow cover very quickly.
The picture shows the dried-up River Negro in Brazil, with a bridge in the distance.
But the biggest events were the heatwave in Russia and the flooding in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, Government officials said that from July 28 to Aug. 3, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province recorded almost 12 feet of rainfall in one week.
The province normally averages slightly above 3 feet for an entire year.
Pakistan Floods Russian forest fire
In Russia, the heatwave lasted weeks, causing forest fires and destroying crops.
The Russian harvest was reduced in 2010, so the government stopped exports of grains.
The link between the floods and the heatwave was a blocked jet stream
The odd behaviour of the jet streams is being linked to the way the polar areas are warming faster than other parts of the Earth.
There were some very unusual weather events in 2010, which may be a warning of future effects of climate change.
China and Brazil had serious droughts, and in the first part of the year the Northern Hemisphere warmed quickly, melting the winter snow cover very quickly.
The picture shows the dried-up River Negro in Brazil, with a bridge in the distance.
But the biggest events were the heatwave in Russia and the flooding in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, Government officials said that from July 28 to Aug. 3, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province recorded almost 12 feet of rainfall in one week.
The province normally averages slightly above 3 feet for an entire year.
Pakistan Floods Russian forest fire
In Russia, the heatwave lasted weeks, causing forest fires and destroying crops.
The Russian harvest was reduced in 2010, so the government stopped exports of grains.
The link between the floods and the heatwave was a blocked jet stream
The odd behaviour of the jet streams is being linked to the way the polar areas are warming faster than other parts of the Earth.
