2010 Could Be Hottest Year Yet

Duh! Thanks for that news flash!

Federal climate scientists say that 2010 is shaping up to be the hottest year yet seen, with average global temperatures for the first six months of the year beating the previous record, set in 1998, by 1.19 degrees Fahrenheit. The National Climatic Data Center's scientists added that this year's warm weather did not appear to be a one-off. "Each of the 10 warmest average global temperatures recorded since 1880 have occurred in the last fifteen years," the center reported. The center also notes that Arctic sea-ice shrank to record lows in June, covering an area almost 11 percent lower than the usual June average, marking the 19th consecutive year of summer ice declines. At the other end of the Earth, Antarctic sea ice was up a little more than 8 percent, in the largest June expansion on record.

Credits: Slate Magazine via MSNBC