November 15, 2010

Exceptional Year


2010 has been an "exceptional" year for weather disasters with the highest number of weather-related events since records began being kept, German reinsurance company Munich Re said.


"This year really has been a year of weather records," Peter Hoeppe, an expert from Munich Re's Geo Risks Research department, told AFP. "The first nine months of the year have seen the highest number of weather-related events since Munich Re started keeping records," he added.


Hoeppe said the continuing pattern of global warming was contributing to the natural disasters. This year has been the warmest on record as well since measurements began 130 years ago. Temperature records were set in Russia, with the mercury tipping 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time.


This diagram shows the number of weather catastrophes from 1980 - 2009. Storms are shown in green. Floods and hydrologic events are shown in blue. Climate events - extreme temperatures, droughts are shown in yellow. 






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