Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) 2010 has been the warmest year since 1901, the India Meteorology Department (IMD) said Thursday in its annual report.IMD’s annual climate summary states that the average temperature for the country as a whole during 2010 was 0.93 degree Celsius above the average recorded in 1961-1990. “It was slightly higher than that of the year 2009, thus making the year 2010 as the warmest year on record since 1901,” it said.

“The annual mean temperature for the country as a whole was 25.8023 degrees Celsius during 2010 — 0.93 degrees higher than the average for the 30-year period from 1961,” states the summary.

“The pre-monsoon season between March and May last year was also the hottest time with mean temperatures remaining 1.8 degrees Celsius above normal,” reads the Annual Climate Summary of India during 2010.

IMD Director General Ajit Tyagi said, “An analysis has also shown that the mean annual temperatures were generally above normal throughout the country during the year, with the departure from the normal being more pronounced in north and central India.”

The departures from the normal were more than one degree Celsius over most parts of northern and central India, while they were between zero and one degree over the rest of the country.

The mean monthly temperature for the country as a whole for March was 2.27 degrees Celsius above the 1961-90 average, for April 2.02 degrees Celsius and for Nov 1.17 degrees Celsius.

Tyagi said, “An analysis of decadal variations in temperatures showed that the 2001-2010 period has been the warmest decade with a temperature anomaly of 0.40 degrees Celsius.”

The annual total rainfall for the country as a whole was normal during the year 2010 with actual rainfall of 121.5 cm against the long period average of 119.7 cm.