Record Heat: 9 Nations That Topped Their Highest Temperatures This Summer (PHOTOS)

2010 has been dominated by extreme natural phenomena, becoming known as the year of 'global weirding.' Heat waves are just one of the many dramatic forces in weather that have been wreaking havoc across the world, scorching populations from South America to the Middle East.

According to Dr. Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground, 15 countries have set new records for high temperatures so far this year, and two have matched their prior record.

On his Wunder Blog, Masters writes that even the amount of countries experiencing record temperatures sets a new record, as never has such a large area of the Earth's surface -- 19 percent -- experienced all-time record high temperatures in a single year.

Here are 9 nations that have reached unprecedented sizzling hot temperatures. Check out the full list HERE.