2010 was second warmest year

With a mean temperature of 14.50 °C, 2010 becomes the second warmest year on record, after 1998. The record is maintained by the Met Office and the Climatic Research Unit at UEA.

Read more at:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2011/2010-global-temperature

Speaking about the figures, Professor Phil Jones, Director of Research at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia said: "The warmest 10 years in all three datasets are the same and have all occurred since 1998. The last 10 years 2001-2010 were warmer than the previous 10 years (1991-2000) by 0.2 °C."
These figures follow two similar announcements last week from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which suggested that 2010 was the joint warmest year on their respective records.
Adam Scaife, head of long-range forecasting at the Met Office, said the studies painted a relatively coherent picture. "The three leading global temperature datasets show that 2010 is clearly warmer than 2009," he said. "They also show that 2010 is the warmest or second warmest year on record
The UN's World Meteorological Organisation , which bases its reports on all three sets of data, said that 2010 was the joint warmest year on record, tied with 1998 and 2005. "The 2010 data confirm the Earth's significant long-term warming trend," said the secretary-general, Michel Jarraud. "The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998."
2010 saw a number of extreme weather events, including a summer heatwave in Russia, floods in Pakistan, Australia and China and heavy snowfall in northern Europe.