A team of scientists led by NCAR’s Keith Oleson has incorporated urban areas into a global climate model. The development is important because most models used for predicting future climate change do not account for the urban “heat island” effect.

Just as the U.S. economy began a dramatic nosedive in 2007, so did the Arctic’s summertime sea ice. In the summer of 2010, the ice—much like the economy—continued to struggle.

In 1988, it was the spectre of Yellowstone National Park on fire. In 2003, it was the horror of thousands dying from heat in prosperous western Europe. The planet’s standout heat wave in 2010 plagued much of European Russia, including Moscow.

In Kansas City and Tulsa, overnight lows have seldom dipped much below 80°F, with consistently oppressive humidity. Pulses of tropical air flowing north and east from the Gulf of Mexico are largely to blame.