With just a couple of weeks to go before a New Year, the United Nations meteorological agency said 2008 is likely to be the tenth warmest year since the beginning of climate records in 1850. Climate extremes, including devastating floods, severe and persistent droughts, snowstorms, and heat and cold waves, were recorded in many parts of the world. There were above-average temperatures all over Europe and a remarkably cold winter over Eurasia stretching from Turkey to China, causing hundreds of casualties in Afghanistan and China. In southern Asia, including India, Pakistan and Vietnam, heavy monsoon rains and torrential downpours produced flash floods, killing more than 2,600 people, and displacing 10 million people in India. The most deadly tropical cyclone of the year was Cyclone Nargis, which killed nearly 78,000 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Myanmar.
