The Earth's surface temperatures in 2016 were the warmest since records began, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US and the Met Office in the UK.
Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies said globally averaged surface temperatures last year were 0.99°C warmer than the mid-20th century mean, making 2016 the third year running to set a new record.
The Met Office said 2016 and 2015 were the two warmest years in its annual series of figures that go back to 1850.
NASA said the planet’s average surface temperature had risen about 1.1°C since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.
It confirmed that most of the warming had occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001.