2010 warmest year since 1901: IMD

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) 2010 was the warmest year since1901, the India Meteorology Department (IMD) announced today.

The annual mean temperature for the country as a wholewas 25.8023 degrees Celsius during 2010 -- 0.93 degrees higherthan the average for the 30-year period from 1961.

The pre-monsoon season between March and May last yearwas the hottest time with mean temperatures remaining 1.8degrees Celsius above normal, said the Annual Climate Summaryof India during 2010.

IMD Director General Ajit Tyagi said an analysis hasalso shown that the mean annual temperatures were generallyabove normal throughout the country during the year, with thedeparture from the normal being more pronounced in north andcentral India.

The departures from the normal were more than one degreeCelsius over most parts of northern and central India, whilethey were between zero and one degree over the rest of thecountry.

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

Tyagi said an analysis of decadal variations intemperatures showed that the 2001-2010 period has been thewarmest decade with a temperature anomaly of 0.40 degreesCelsius.

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