WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world is enduring the hottest year on...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world is enduring the hottest year on record, according to a U.S. national weather analysis, causing droughts worldwide and a concern for U.S. farmers counting on another bumper year.

For the first six months of the year, 2010 has been warmer than the first half of 1998, the previous record holder, by 0.03 degree Fahrenheit, said Jay Lawrimore, chief of climate analysis at the federal National Climatic Data Centre.

Period of a El Nino weather pattern is being blamed for the hot temperatures globally.

"We had an El Nino episode in the early part of the year that's now faded but that has contributed to the warmth not only in equatorial Pacific but also contributed to anomalously warm global temperatures as well," Lawrimore said.

Abnormally warm temperatures have been registered in large parts of Canada, Africa, tropical oceans and parts of the Middle East.

......and so on

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/7598037/world-simmers-in-hottest-year-so-far/

I prefer to believe the scientists, because that's what they do...

...as distinct from kitchen window observations from Wagga Wagga or wherever.