This year is on course to be the world’s hottest since measurements began.
Lockdown has cleared the skies but it has done nothing to cool the climate, scientists say.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calculates there is a 75% chance 2020 will be the hottest year, beating the record of 2016. The Met Office estimate is 50%.
This January was the hottest on record, leaving many Arctic nations without snow in their capitals.
In February, a research base in the Antarctic registered more than 20C for the first time on the southern continent.
At the other end of the world, Qaanaaq, in Greenland, set an April record of 6C. Los Angeles hit a high of 34C and Western Australia also had record heat.
The daily UK temperature for April is 3.1C above average, but the month will end with rainfall.
Karsten Haustein, of Oxford University, said the climate crisis “continues unabated”.
A Met Office spokesman said it was “mankind’s next crisis”.
It recently emerged that the vast majority of British adults plan to become more environmentally friendly when the nation eventually comes out of lockdown.
A study of 2,000 people found 70 per cent believe the restrictions and, change in consumption habits associated with coronavirus, have had a positive impact on the planet.
Two-fifths plan to continue with some of their lifestyle changes even when social distancing measures are lifted so they can do more to reduce their personal impact on the environment.
Twenty per cent are considering using their car less in the future to cut their carbon footprint, and 27 per cent plan to reduce the amount of rubbish they throw away.
Others intend to eat less or no meat at all, buy fewer clothes, and shop locally once restrictions are relaxed.
