Temperature Extremes In Both Hemispheres

Recently, there have been a couple of extreme climate effects noted. Record high temperatures have made the news on two continents in the northern and southern hemispheres.
In the United States, to the surprise of no one who experienced it, 2012 was the hottest year on record by more than a degree, with hundreds of new temperature records set throughout the year. The average national temperature was a full degree higher than the previous record. A degree of temperature may not seem like much, but when talking about an average over a year, that’s a huge spike. “Normally, records are broken by a tenth of a degree or so.”
And, in Australia, recent temperatures have gotten so hot that the Bureau of Meteorology has had to add new colors to those it uses on its interactive weather forecasting chart. Until now, the temperature maps have gone up to 50 degrees C (122 F), but that hasn’t been enough for recent high temperatures. Now, the new scale extends to 54 C (129 F).