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.

During the stormy summer of 2005, hurricanes Katrina and Rita raised concerns about the potential effects of global warming on tropical cyclones. At the same time, the Amazon rainforest was experiencing one of its most intense droughts of the last century.