2014 on track to be globe's warmest year on record

While the eastern U.S. has spent much of this year shivering, it is on track to be the warmest year on record across the globe.

The first 10 months of the year, from January through October, have been the warmest such period since record-keeping began in 1880. The average temperature over land and sea was 1.22 degrees above the 20th century average, according to the National Climatic Data Center.