2010 Global temperatures 'a dead heat' with 1998
We might be experiencing a severe, record breaking start to winter here in the UK, but latest satellite data, from the University of Alabama, for November, shows global temperatures continue to fall, but that 2010 as a whole is neck and neck with 1998 for global warmth.
1998 according to the UK Met Office and satellite data is currently the hottest year on record.
With La Nina in full swing in the tropical Pacific, it is likely that 2011 will be a much colder year globally than 2010.
A majority of scientists who believe that Greenhouse gases are heating the earth's atmosphere claim that it's remarkable that 2010 has been so warm, since the El Nino of 2010 has been less intense than 1998. They also point out that this warmth is against the background of continuing weak solar activity.
Climate sceptics however claim that the ongoing weak solar cycle has a lagging effect on global temperatures and we are likely to feel that in coming years.
They also claim that global temperatures have not risen as fast as global temperature predictions had lead us to believe given the increased levels of man made greenhouse gases now in our atmosphere.
There will clearly be a heated debate when more global temperature data is released early next year.
Hello, I’m Paul Hudson, weather presenter and climate correspondent for BBC Look North in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. I've been interested in the weather and climate for as long as I can remember, and worked as a forecaster with the Met Office for more than ten years locally and at the international unit before joining the BBC in October 2007. Here I divide my time between forecasting and reporting on stories about climate change and its implications for people's everyday lives. 
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