Temperatures reached record levels in several regions during 2010, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says, confirming the year is likely to be among the warmest three on record. Parts of Russia, Greenland, Canada, China, North Africa and South Asia all saw the mercury soar to record levels. The three main temperature records show 2010 as the warmest, or joint warmest, year in the instrumental record. The UK Met Office suggests 2011 will be cooler, as La Nina conditions dominate. This brings colder than average water to the top of the eastern Pacific Ocean, which lowers temperatures globally. The two leading US analyses of global temperature show that up until the end of October, 2010 was the warmest year in the instrumental record going back to 1850. The global average temperature was 0.58C above the average for 1961-90 according to Nasa, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) put the figure at 0.54 above. The UK record, kept by the Met Office and the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, has 2010 in joint first place with the El Nino-dominated year of 1998. The Met Office released its own analysis last week. But with La Nina conditions continuing, 2010 could slip back into second or third place by the time data for November and December is included, it says. If La Nina continues into next year, as expected, that could make 2011 cooler than 2010 - though still well above the 1961-90 average. The UK itself, meanwhile, is on course to see the coldest year since 1996, due to the state of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) - a weather phenomenon that affects the distribution of heat within the northern hemisphere. CRU's Professor Phil Jones - one of the scientist at the centre of the "ClimateGate" issue earlier in the year - cautioned that annual temperatures were not a good indicator of the progression of global warming as driven by greenhouse gas emissions. "Year-to-year variability is dominated by features such as the NAO and El Nino," he told BBC News. "But if you want to look at the underlying trend, you need to look at the decadal timescale, and that's when you detect the anthropogenic influence. "In terms of looking at recent years, 1998 was the most anomalous - the remaining top 10 warmest years in the series have all occurred since 2000."